Stepson Convicted in Murder-for-Hire of ‘Lobster Boy’
A jury convicted the so-called Lobster Boy’s stepson Tuesday of hiring a hit man to kill the claw-handed carnival performer.
Harry Glenn Newman, 20, himself a “Human Blockhead” who hammered nails into his nostrils on the sideshow circuit, quietly sobbed as he heard the verdicts. The jury rejected his arguments that killing Grady Stiles Jr., 55, was a last resort to protect his mother, Mary Stiles, from abuse.
Newman was found guilty of first-degree murder and murder conspiracy, which carries a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years. Circuit Judge Donald C. Evans set sentencing for Sept. 23.
In her trial last month, Mary Stiles, 56, claimed she was a battered wife and was convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter. Triggerman Christopher Wyant, 19, was convicted last year of second-degree murder and is serving 27 years in prison.
Mrs. Stiles and Newman paid Wyant $1,500 to shoot Stiles twice in the back of the head two years ago in his trailer.
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