NJ - Carolyn Byington, 26, killed inside her home, Plainsboro, 10 June 2019 *Arrest*

[scdiv]

I suppose. I am personally leaning more towards something outside of work, like an obsession with her or something along those lines.

True. Your post just made me of think of that Yale lab murder - Annie Le.

 

[gitana1]

"Daddy -daughter date ideas"? WTF. That whole Princess section is scary af

Well now he will never get to date his daughter. Hope he's as "happy" as his mother told him to try to be. Wth with these murderers.

 

[gitana1]

This is NYC2015 -- I can't remember my password to my account so this is other username. I have been away from the computer and felt I should sign on to Websleuths to see if anything new on justice for Carolyn and wow- on my homepage was prayers answered- "Arrest made in worker killed on lunchbreak" on NYPost. Thank GOD.
I will read up when I have more time but am just so glad and relieved police arrested the killer. Her family has justice. And I apologize to any LE for sounding harsh they were not making progress or giving residents peace of mind. It is clear now they were working their asses off the whole time. Sounds like the answers the cop gave to DAB at the community event were right on.
I remember writing early on that I assumed they looked at all of Carolyn's co-workers, especially the one who notified police she hadn't returned back to the office yet. I struck me that they should be looking at that person/people..since she rarely went home for work. I wonder if this creep is the one who notified LE or management that she never came back? (to make him look oh so innocent). Disgusting creep -- judge better throw him away for life.

They always are working their tails off!

 

[bears10]

Here is the link to see his multiple traffic violations. Just search by name and then enter Kenneth C Saal and then enter search. Click on the ticket you want to view and then click on view details. Municipal Court Case Search

He drives a gray Honda. Someone asked upthread about his car. It’s not a Range Rover.

 

[gitana1]

Wow- this seriously surprises me and is so so scary. When I initially posted way back about police questioning co-workers, I thought to myself it sounds like a small newish type of marketing firm, probably a lot of mostly 20 - 30 somethings who are mostly all friends and hang out. He met his wife in high school. He seems to have lived a decent/normal life. What on earth made him do this? How does a wife who has known her husband for 11 years process this and someday tell their daughter? I wonder if they will ever find out, or release a motive.

I have the exact same thoughts and reactions. So bizarre. How is his wife going to cope?

 

[scdiv]

Investigators said Saal asked a co-worker, unprompted, if he could be arrested solely on circumstantial evidence.

Sounds like a real genius. That definitely would not raise any flags.

 

[borndem]

This article Killer was waiting at apartment for 26-year-old woman murdered on her lunch break, sources say says she was “drawn (home) for some reason” which I accept isn’t exactly “lured”, but I do remember seeing that specific word used previously.

@borndem, given that she wasn’t accustomed to going home for lunch, it would be an awful coincidence to have an opportunistic attack. I think it had to be a trigger that would make her go to the effort of going home, such as a parcel being delivered, tradesman coming for repairs, etc. I’m guessing there was nothing noted in her diary/appointment book, which suggests she had a phone call on the day rather than a pre-arranged meeting.

Agreed. It makes sense. IMO it would have to have been an unplanned appt or delivery/signature-required since she didn't mention it, as far as we know, to any of her co-workers about having to go home for lunch -- which of course she wasn't required to do. Maybe she had called mgmt. about a repair that had to be done inside her apt., but seems like it would have had to have been pre-scheduled as well.

 

[GraceRose]

The reaction of my 27 yo daughter who also lives and works in Princeton was... "I wonder if she caught him doing something that'd get him fired" ... she couldn't imagine it being anything personal. Like I said in a previous post... a young, newly married father may have felt an unusually high amount of pressure to keep his job.... although, I am sure he has other issues and is just plain evil to brutally kill such a beautiful young woman.

 

[Seattle1]

DNA linked co-worker to lunch break stabbing of 26-year-old, complaint says

8/22/19

In the criminal complaint against Saal, obtained by NJ Advance Media, police investigators wrote that Saal’s DNA "could not be excluded” as a match to evidence found under Byington’s fingernails.

Saal also asked a coworker, unprompted, if he could be arrested based on circumstantial evidence alone, the complaint also says.

Byington was found dead after police conducted a wellness check when she didn’t return from her lunch break, police have said. Neighbors said at the time they heard faint screams and the sound of moving furniture in her apartment that day.

When police found her at her Hunters Glen Drive apartment, she had multiple stab wounds and sustained blunt force trauma, the complaint says.

[...]

According to the complaint, Saal and Byington took their lunch breaks around the same time on June 10. Saal texted his immediate supervisor that day he would return late from lunch because he was at a mechanic, which the supervisor later realized was not true.

In the days following Byington’s death, Saal’s demeanor changed and colleagues spotted cuts on his knuckles and hands. He also also asked a coworker about circumstantial evidence in a murder case, the complaint alleges.

On Monday, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office received the results of DNA testing found under Byington’s fingernails and found Saal could not be excluded. Investigators also reviewed video footage which captured a vehicle matching Saal’s traveling in Plainsboro on June 10 at 2:04 p.m., according to the complaint.

In the documents, investigators do not describe a motive for the slaying, nor do they indicate the type of weapon used.

Plainsboro police and the prosecutor’s office have said very little about the crime in the past two months, outside of official statements.

 

[PastTense]

Has he been fired? When did it happen?

 

[scdiv]

Here is the link to see his multiple traffic violations. Just search by name and then enter Kenneth C Saal and then enter search. Click on the ticket you want to view and then click on view details. Municipal Court Case Search

Not that traffic tickets or the occasional speeding ticket over the course of several years typically equates to murderer.... but this does seem like a ridiculous number of citations and issues that is not the norm.

 

[azure]

I don't believe Carolyn would touch that creep with a 10 foot pole. I'm going with the theory that she had some sort of info that could get him fired. It's also possible, based on his co-workers' statements, that she inadvertently did something that threatened his ego at work. If he was indeed vandalizing cars at his old job, he sounds like the vindictive type.

 

[Francesca]

My gut feeling is that she agreed to meet him at her apartment. No forced entry and LE are saying she was killed pretty much immediately upon entering, so my guess is they drove separately, he met her at the front door of her apartment (so the neighbours didn't see them together) and he was ready to strike as soon as the front door closed behind them. The police would know from the position of her body and even the position of her handbag that she hadn't managed to get very far before he killed her. He was probably very conscious of the time, and didn't want to waste time in the apartment - meet her there, kill her, clean up and then make his way back to work as quickly as possible.
It seems like a personal relationship and she had no fear of danger if she agreed to meet him at her apartment. It's probably also a logical place to meet if you are coworkers and don't want other coworkers to be aware that you are meeting.

 

[Francesca]

Some poor man has a video up of the Saal's wedding dance - he must have a professional connection to the wedding and he posted the video almost two years ago as a promotion. I don't think it will be there long, because people are commenting and he had no idea.

 

[ludakristen]

My gut feeling is that she agreed to meet him at her apartment. No forced entry and LE are saying she was killed pretty much immediately upon entering, so my guess is they drove separately, he met her at the front door of her apartment (so the neighbours didn't see them together) and he was ready to strike as soon as the front door closed behind them. The police would know from the position of her body and even the position of her handbag that she hadn't managed to get very far before he killed her. He was probably very conscious of the time, and didn't want to waste time in the apartment - meet her there, kill her, clean up and then make his way back to work as quickly as possible.
It seems like a personal relationship and she had no fear of danger if she agreed to meet him at her apartment. It's probably also a logical place to meet if you are coworkers and don't want other coworkers to be aware that you are meeting.

I tend to agree. He knew where her apartment was, not just the complex but her actual door. He was able to get there quickly, on his lunch break. And she didn't tell anybody why she was going home? I think she purposely met him there and he had been there before.

Also, I found his wife's occupation and she probably made more money than he did. So maybe money wasn't a concern, or losing his job wasn't a concern. I am leaning toward personal relationship at this point, too.

 

[lexinyc2013]

What a damn waste. And why? What's wrong with people? He thought it would be a fun thing to follow her home and assault and murder her? What was the point? How did he think this would end?

Sick freaks. I'm tired of this. So senseless and demoralizing.

My thoughts exactly. It really saddens me what is happening in our world. I keep thinking what if neighbors helped her right away when they heard screams.

I keep thinking this sick creep told her she had to go home for an emergency or something with her apartment and he surprised her there. I have no idea and am probably wrong but I'm thinking she caught him doing something and he knew, but she didn't know that he knew. Breaking into co-workers cars at his last job? So many traffic tickets. He might have had a drug problem he was trying to fund. Could be anything..I have no idea. All just sickening.

 

[lexinyc2013]

Also I assume the office building had ID badges that track what time each of them left for lunch and what time he returned. He could have waited for her to go into her apartment and then knocked on the door -- thinking it was the visitor who she was told (by him?) to go back home to let in for a repair, etc.

In some photos he looks pale/sickly. I wonder if he had a drug or alcohol problem. New marriage and a baby where you don't get much sleep if baby isn't a good sleeper can wreck havoc on a relationship and cause a lot of stress. This coupled with his already mental problems could have pushed him over the edge acting out against poor Carolyn who he was either pursuing/involved with or found out about his latest illegal activities at work.

 

[zecats]

I tend to agree. He knew where her apartment was, not just the complex but her actual door. He was able to get there quickly, on his lunch break. And she didn't tell anybody why she was going home? I think she purposely met him there and he had been there before.

Also, I found his wife's occupation and she probably made more money than he did. So maybe money wasn't a concern, or losing his job wasn't a concern. I am leaning toward personal relationship at this point, too.

Trust me, as an adjunct prof (been there/done that) income payment is per class and is not the best income. And classes you can teach are limited. If you teach more than, say 3, you have to be considered full time and receive salary and benefits. And number of classes each semester are not guaranteed nor is whether a class will actually run or not, due to number of students signing up. fwiw

ETA Clean up autocorrect typos

 

[lexinyc2013]

Women can tend to deny the danger factor of a stalker especially if he's just this awkward guy at work who has a crush on her, and he's married anyway so of course even he knows nothing can happen between them. Maybe his "crush" escalated to the point where she did feel the need to discuss the issue with him directly - as a friend - and thought her apartment would be a safe discreet place to meet. It's not like she was meeting a stranger from Tinder at her apartment - this was a guy she had known for a considerable time at work, who knew that she was expected back at work by a certain time.

Very true. Neighbors heard furniture moving. Maybe it was something like he offered to go help her move heavy items at her home and she accepted. Maybe they were friends and he was secretly obsessed with her.

 

[MissyMom]

Trust me, as an adjunct prof (been there/don't that) payment if per class and are not the best income. And classes you can teach are limited. If you teach more than, say 3, you have to be considered full time and receive salary and benefits. And number of classes each semester are not guaranteed nor is whether a class will actually run or not, due to number of students signing up. fwiw

I was just about to type the same thing. Adjunct professors do not make a lot of money and she’s at a small college in Jersey. Also, they live in Lindenwold which is a high crime and not a good area.