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Buffalo man sentenced to prison for beating man to death in August 2024

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo man has been sentenced to prison for beating another man to death in August 2024.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that 57-year-old James D. Dietz was sentenced in State Supreme Court to a determinate sentence of 20 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

The district attorney's office said on August 17, 2024, Buffalo Police officers responded to a residence on the first block of Henrietta Avenue for a welfare check and found 66-year-old Michael R. Fronczak dead in the basement of his home. The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.

According to the DA, Dietz caused Fronczak's death by beating him repeatedly with his fists and a lamp. After the crime, Dietz stole Fronczak’s wallet and vehicle and then fled. Fronczak was apprehended by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office in Taylors, South Carolina on August 21. Dietz was returned to Western New York to face prosecution after waiving extradition.

Dietz pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter in December 2024.