Anchorage man convicted of Butte machete murder

A 23-year-old Anchorage man was convicted of murder Friday in the 2014 machete slaying of an elderly Butte farmer.

A Palmer jury convicted Thomas Cottam on first- and-second-degree murder charges, as well as first-degree vehicle theft.

In May 2014, 81-year-old Steven Garcia picked up Cottam, who was hitchhiking. Garcia offered Cottam a job on his small berry farm. A few days into his stay on the farm, Cottam attacked Garcia with a machete.

After the killing, Cottam stole Garcia's truck and fled to Anchorage, where he eventually turned himself in.