Matawan man accused of murdering his father

Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read

FREEHOLD - A Matawan man has been charged with the murder of his father at the home they shared earlier this year, announced acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Kenneth Knapp Jr., 31, could face life in state prison if convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree desecration of human remains in connection with the death of Kenneth Knapp Sr., 58, according to a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office.

Matawan Police Department officers were sent to do a welfare check at a home in the 200 block of Matawan Avenue on May 1 when they discovered the body of Kenneth Knapp Sr. in the basement, the statement said.

Matawan Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutors office are investigating the death of a person found in this Matawan Avenue home over the weekend. Police were originally called to the home to conduct a welfare check.
Matawan Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutors office are investigating the death of a person found in this Matawan Avenue home over the weekend. Police were originally called to the home to conduct a welfare check.

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Later, an autopsy — its report completed last month — determined the cause of death was blunt-force trauma as the result of a homicide, the statement said.

The Major Crimes Bureau of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Matawan Police Department identified the victim’s son as the suspect and he was taken into custody without incident on Friday at a location in Montgomery Township in Somerset County, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

Knapp was then taken to the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township, where he remains pending a detention hearing in state Superior Court in Freehold, the statement said.

The motive for the crime and the details of Knapp’s death and what happened in the hours that followed have not been made public at this time.

Matawan Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutors office are investigating the death of a person found in this Matawan Avenue home over the weekend. Police were originally called to the home to conduct a welfare check.
Matawan Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutors office are investigating the death of a person found in this Matawan Avenue home over the weekend. Police were originally called to the home to conduct a welfare check.

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This case has been assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Luciano.

Anyone who may be able to help prosecutors about the crime is asked to contact Detective Joseph Mason of the Matawan Police Department at 732-566-1010 or Detective Brian Migliorisi at 800-533-7443 of the Prosecutor’s Office.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Matawan NJ man charged in the murder of his father