A Newark NJ man recently pleaded guilty to his role in the stabbing death of a woman during a robbery.
According to authorities, the fatal robbery occurred at a West Orange residence in September 2013. The victim, a 57-year-old woman, was brutally stabbed by the 20-year-old suspect and his female accomplice in the armed robbery.
The suspects reportedly broke into a residence on Chestnut Street in West Orange, NJ. Once they were inside the house, things did not go according to plan. The female suspect reportedly gave a knife to the male suspect, who struggled with the victim. At one point during the struggle, the male suspect allegedly stabbed the victim in the neck.
Prosecutors said that the victim’s 20-month-old granddaughter was asleep in another room of the house while the murder took place.
West Orange NJ police discovered the victim’s body after authorities got a call from a family member of the victim.
Both suspects were eventually located and arrested.
The male suspect later accepted a plea offer from Essex County prosecutors. The plea deal calls for the suspect to plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for a 22-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison.
The suspect’s co-defendant in the case, a 23-year-old West Orange NJ woman, pleaded guilty two months earlier to charges of aggravated manslaughter. In exchange for her guilty plea, the co-defendant accepted a similar deal. She is expected to be sentenced to 22 years in New Jersey State Prison. She will be required to serve a minimum of 19 years before she gains parole eligibility.
Both suspects are due to appear in Essex County Superior Court on July 7 for formal sentencing by the superior court judge.
For more information about this case, view NJ.com article entitled “N.J. Man Admits Role in Stabbing Death of West Orange Grandmother.”
