NORRISTOWN — A Perkiomen Township man accused of using a hammer to fatally beat his girlfriend will wage a voluntary intoxication defense at trial to fight the prosecution’s contention that he had a specific intent to kill and to reduce the degree of homicide.

William Roy Carey Jr., 47, of the 500 block of Gravel Pike, who is charged with first- and third-degree murder, informed Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein of his defense strategy on Friday during a final pretrial hearing before his trial begins next Tuesday in connection with the alleged Nov. 1, 2024, fatal beating of his girlfriend, Jessica Zipkin, during a domestic disturbance inside the Gravel Pike apartment.

During extensive and careful questioning by the judge, Carey said he wanted his lawyers to be permitted to intro

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