BRENTWOOD, N.H. - A New Hampshire man has been convicted of first degree murder for beating his landlord to death with a hammer after assuming his identity and stealing his new pickup truck to trade it for a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

A Rockingham County Superior Court jury reached the verdict Thursday in the trial of 50-year-old Paul McDonald for the June 2008 death of 54-year-old Richard Wilcox in his Danville home.

McDonald admitted he killed Wilcox, but claimed it was in self-defense. His attorneys argued McDonald awoke to find Wilcox raping him, and reacted with emotional rage and shock.

Prosecutors described him as an opportunist who had planned to run off with the truck to make some quick money.