18-Year-Old Pleads Guilty to Stabbing

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COLTS Neck ­– An 18-year-old township teen pleaded guilty in Superior Court on Thursday to stabbing a township woman after breaking into her home and then stealing her vehicle when he was a minor.
Brennan Doyle, now 18, pleaded guilty to one count each of first degree carjacking and first degree attempted murder when he appeared before Judge Francis J. Vernoia in Freehold, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County.
During his court appearance, Doyle, who was 16 at the time of the crime, admitted in court he repeatedly stabbed the victim in her Colts Neck home with the intention of killing her and then fled the home in the victim’s car in 2013.
(Due to state juvenile confidentiality statute, law enforcement authorities hadn’t made public Doyle’s identity until the matter was transferred to the Superior Court, Webster said.)
Doyle is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 29 and faces between 14 to 15 years in state prison for the crimes. Doyle is also subject to provisions of the state’s No Early Release Act, mandating he serve 85 percent of his sentence before being considered for parole, according to Webster.
Township police received a 911 phone call at approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 7, 2013 from a woman saying she had been stabbed in her home by an unknown assailant. Police and emergency medical service personnel found the woman with numerous stab wounds, taking her to an area hospital in critical condition, where she remained and was treated for several days before being released, according to authorities.
The joint investigation conducted by the prosecutor’s office and township police determined the victim heard noises coming from outside her home and when she stepped outside the assailant pushed his way into the home and stabbed her and left her for dead. The perpetrator found the victim’s vehicle keys, driving away in it. Police found the vehicle later that morning in Aberdeen.

By John Burton