NJ man admits killing his father, stashing body in basement

A 32-year-old Matawan man has admitted to killing his father and then stashing the body in the basement of their home.

In Superior Court on Tuesday, Kenneth H. Knapp Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree desecration of human remains.

Police found the body of 58-year-old Kenneth Knapp Sr. in May 2022, over a week after he had been killed, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.

🔴 Victim’s body stashed in basement by son

Officers with Matawan police arrived at the Knapp home on a Sunday afternoon after being called by relatives and friends of Knapp Sr. to do a welfare check.

Police found Knapp’s body inside a large plastic container, where it had first been wrapped and secured in a tarp.

Knapp Jr. was arrested more than three months later.

Investigators said that the adult son — who had wrestled in both high school and college — attacked and killed his father in their shared bathroom.

He then hid the body for more than a week until it was found by police.

Prosecutors planned to recommend a 25-year prison term on the manslaughter charge — of which at least 21 years would have to be served before becoming eligible for parole.

Another five-year term would be requested on the desecration charge.

Knapp Jr. has been slated for sentencing on April 18.

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