Haddon Twp. Man Guilty in Thanksgiving Killing

It took a jury just seven hours to declare Haddon Township’s Harold Elliot guilty for killing a Thanksgiving guest after arguing over the Iraq war in 2008. 

Elliot, 38, of Locust Street, now faces a prison sentence of five to 20 years for shooting his sister’s boyfriend, Michael Unger, 35, of Glen Burnie, MD.

Unger was a Thanksgiving guest of the Elliots in 2008, and meeting his girlfriend’s family for the first time. He and Elliot argued for most of the day on Nov. 28, 2008, over the war in Iraq, according to authorities. The argument started at a nearby Veterans of Foreign Wars post and continued at Elliot’s sister’s apartment. The sister lived in an apartment downstairs from her brother.

Unger went upstairs to use the bathroom in Elliot’s apartment, where Elliot shot him with a handgun, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

Alcohol likely fueled men’s argument, with reports that the two spent most of the day drinking as well as fighting. The medical examiner said Unger had a .20 blood alcohol level—2.5 times the legal limit—according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report.

A jury deadlocked on a verdict after Elliot’s first trial earlier this year. After this seven-day trial, the jury convicted Elliot of second-degree reckless manslaughter and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 3 before Superior Court Judge Gwendolyn Blue.