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Jeremiah E.
Monell was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole in the December 2016 murder of his estranged wife, Tara O'Shea-Watson.
Cumberland judge gives life in prison to man who butchered wife
March 15, 2019
"BRIDGETON – A Cedarville man who stabbed and slashed his estranged wife to death, an attack their son witnessed mutely as he hid behind a curtain, was sentenced Friday in Cumberland County Superior Court to spend the rest of his life in a state prison.
Monell, 34, of Cedarville has been in the county jail since New Jersey State Police found him in Folsom Borough on Jan. 2, 2017 and ended his fugitive status.
The volatile defendant sat for most of the hearing and appeared calm, though he issued repeated belches, starting during a statement read by Emily O'Shea, the victim's mother.
O'Shea and others told Monell they relished his future in a maximum security prison, his every action controlled by others, and expressed gratitude that his son and daughter were safe with loving relatives and out of his reach.
"Thank God you are going to a place you can never hurt another person," O'Shea said.
Monell also listened to statements from his son, also named Jeremiah, and other relatives and friends of the murdered woman. Some people needed help from other people to finish their statements or chose not to try because they felt too emotional to finish or start.
The younger Jeremiah did not try, huddling between a county worker who read his statement and an aunt, Thelma Monell.
"She was honest, loyal and protective," the son had written about his mother. "She was an awesome person."
"Every day I have to wake up without my mother," the boy's statement continued. "It is really painful without my mother. You might think you get used to it. But you never get used to it. Yes, you have family. But it isn't the same. My sister (Sara) s affected, too. She is so young that she might not remember our mother.
The son, who testified at the trial, stated that he felt his father is "right where you belong."
"You can't hurt her, me, or Sara anymore," the son finished
His father, Ed Monell, also spoke and apologized to his son for not having been a better father....
Cumberland County Judge Cristen D'Arrigo job on Friday was to sentence Monell on a charge of first-degree murder with aggravating factors, on two weapon offenses, and on a contempt charge. D'Arrigo also presided over the trial.
The judge's discretion was limited to a degree because the sentence of life in prison without parole was mandatory in this case under New Jersey law.
D'Arrigo said he would have sentenced Monell to life in prison even without the law.
The jury's murder verdict included a judgment by jurors that the crime was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman" as defined in the state's murder statute."
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