2 Men Plead Guilty To Killing Homeless Beverly Man

Two homeless men from Beverly have pleaded guilty to beating to death another homeless man nearly two years ago.

Michael Bryson and Eric Roberts pleaded guilty Wednesday in Salem Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter and were sentenced to 17 to 18 years in state prison under a plea agreement.

The pair had been scheduled to stand trial on first-degree murder charges next month.

Prosecutors acknowledged during a hearing that the decision to negotiate a plea agreement was in part due to a "careful assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the case."

Authorities say the 52-year-old Bryson and the 35-year-old Roberts killed Bradley Killam in June 2010 over money.

The Salem News reports that their lawyers said they men are remorseful.