Man convicted of 2023 fatal stabbing at Mount Laurel, NJ, hotel

A 30-year-old Burlington County man has been convicted of fatally stabbing a man at a hotel in Mount Laurel last year.

Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw says after a jury deliberated for about five hours, Taylor Perkins of Riverton was found guilty of the following charges:

• Second-degree manslaughter
• Second-degree eluding
• 2 counts of third-degree theft by unlawful taking
• Third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
• Fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon

An investigation began on the morning of April 20th, 2023, after officers with the Mount Laurel Police Department were called to the Rodeway Inn on Route 73 for a report of two men fighting. There, they found the body of 36-year-old Michael Jefferies of Mt. Laurel on the ground outside of a second-floor room.

Authorities determined that after stabbing Jefferies, Perkins fled on foot to a nearby BMW dealership and drove off in an SUV. He abandoned that vehicle in Evesham and stole a truck belonging to an Xfinity worker who was up on a ladder working at the time. He was eventually apprehended at a home in Camden.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood concluded that Jefferies died from multiple stab wounds.

Sentencing has been scheduled for October 18th.

The investigation was conducted by the Mount Laurel Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office with assistance from the Camden County, Cherry Hill, and Evesham Township Police Departments. Perkins was prosecuted by BCPO Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Conte.