WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 24-year-old Delray Beach man on Tuesday was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the beating death of an 80-year-old man near Greenacres in 2022.
Circuit Court Judge Caroline Cahill Shepherd sentenced Matas Baltus for killing Willy Wengi on March 9, 2022, along Via Poinciana just west of the Greenacres city limits. The second-degree sentence was 35 years and grand theft was five to be served concurrently.
He originally was charged with first-degree murder, and on June 1 he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
Wengi was found dead in his apartment, and detectives later saw Baltis inside too, sleeping on a rocking chair, investigators said.
In court Tuesday, Baltus attempted to speak to the victim's family but the attorney representing them shut it down.