Accused lunch break killer was stalking his victim before brutal stabbing, prosecutor says
Sept 23, 2019
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At a pre-indictment conference in Superior Court in Middlesex County, Assistant Prosecutor Tzvi Dolinger said detectives recently obtained Google location records that show Saal was at Byington’s Hunters Glen Drive apartment complex in the days leading up to her death.
Dolinger also said that detectives took a statement from one of Byington’s neighbors that identified Saal as being in the complex, specifically near the communal laundry room, weeks before the killing.
This “establishes what, at this point, seems to be a stalking of the victim,” Dolinger said.
The investigation, Dolinger said, is “playing catch up” after detectives received DNA evidence on Aug. 19 — two months after police discovered Byington in her apartment with multiple stab wounds — that pointed towards Saal as the accused killer.
Saal’s attorney, Michael Roberts, maintains his client’s innocence but declined to comment on the stalking allegation after the hearing.
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At Monday’s court hearing, Dolinger said the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has offered a plea deal that would have Saal admit to one count of murder in exchange for 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Roberts, Saal’s attorney, hasn’t accepted the offer, and the case will go before a grand jury if there’s no resolution before that.
Saal is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 24.