Murder conviction reached after 6 years in hit-and-run

Six years after a Santa Clara University law student died in a hit-and-run collision and the driver callously dumped his body on the side of the road, jurors have handed down a murder conviction to the man who killed him, authorities said.

Troy Alexander Moulton was found guilty of murder last week in the Feb. 23, 2018, Death of 24-year-old Barrett Grabow, a Sonora resident attending the SCU school of law. Grabow was struck at Park Avenue and Newhall Street.

Besides the extraordinary length of time it took to resolve in court, the case was considered egregious for what unfolded in the aftermath of the collision: Grabow, gravely injured, became lodged in the windshield of Moulton's 1997 Toyota Camry, and home security video captured Moulton swerving the car in an attempt to shake him off.

When that did not work, Moulton stopped and physically pulled Grabow into the car through the windshield and dropped him onto the sidewalk. Grabow eventually was discovered and rushed to a hospital, where he died three days later.

“Finally, after six years, this young man's longsuffering family has some closure,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Finally, this community sees some justice. And finally, this defendant will see jail time for his senseless and heartless actions.”

The jury also found Moulton, 62, guilty of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license. He is scheduled for sentencing April 5. Moulton continues to be held without bail in the county main jail in San Jose.

A San Jose police investigation determined that Moulton was driving about 50 mph, or 20 miles above the posted speed limit, around 11 p.m. When he ran a stop sign and hit Grabow in a marked crosswalk. Grabow was still alive when moulton swerved his car to try to dislodge him. Moulton was seen making a fast U-turn over a curb and pulling over on a side street before pulling Grabow out of his car.

The next day, Moulton hid his damaged car behind a funeral home, and a day later he turned himself in to police, according to the investigation.

He formally was charged and booked into jail in September 2018.

Moulton drew headlines in 2008 when he was convicted of possessing a destructive device after he was arrested on thanksgiving in los altos while driving around in his Honda with an open cardboard box filled with 15 homemade explosives. He claimed at the time that he took the explosives from a man trying to discard them at a local dump.

Police in that case reported finding the explosive devices wrapped in butcher paper and leaking black powder. A bomb squad was summoned to the scene to safely detonate the explosives.