CANTON — A Potsdam man who has spent nearly 22 years behind bars for killing a Clarkson University sophomore has begun preparations for a parole hearing that could lead to his release.

Brian M. McCarthy, 45, is serving a sentence of 23 years to life for the murder of Katherine M. Hawelka. The 23-year-old native of Sylvan Beach in Central New York died Sept. 1, 1986, three days after being attacked by McCarthy. He is being held at Livingston Correctional Facility, a medium-security facility south of Rochester.

The fatal attack took place on an access road beside Walker Arena on the Clarkson campus. The road served as a popular shortcut through a dimly lit part of the campus at the time.

McCarthy told investigators he pushed Miss Hawelka face-first into a concrete wall beside the arena during an unsuccessful rape attempt. He was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time, he told village police. He pleaded guilty in St. Lawrence County Court to second-degree murder and was sentenced in September 1987.

In the wake of the brutal murder, a state Supreme Court jury awarded Miss Hawelka's estate a $3.5 million judgment against McCarthy. Clarkson University reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with her parents, Theresa R. Connelly, Syracuse, and Dr. Joseph E. Hawelka, Verona Beach, in September 1988.

McCarthy, who becomes eligible for release on parole as of Aug. 27, 2009, is to have a parole hearing next April at a date that has not yet been set. In preparation, he has asked Judge Kathleen M. Rogers to authorize the release of the presentence report prepared before his sentencing in 1987.