NJ Man Found Guilty Of Fatal Stabbing In Belleville – For Second Time

BELLEVILLE, NJ — After being granted a second trial from an appellate court, a New Jersey man has been convicted of murdering his roommate in Belleville – again, authorities say.

Edwin Andujar was convicted of murdering Thomas Parent, 59, of Belleville, for the second time, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced last week.

Prosecutors released the following details about the murder:

“On August 7, 2014, Belleville police responded to [a second-floor apartment at] 26 Wallace Street, and found the victim, Thomas Parent, sitting in a wheelchair suffering from multiple stab wounds to his abdomen and back and a laceration to his arm consistent with a defensive wound. Prior to police arrival, [Andujar] was observed by a witness standing over Parent holding a bloody knife. That witness then called 911. Upon arrival of the police, Andujar told the officer, ‘I stabbed him, I couldn’t take it anymore.’ Andujar was then placed under arrest.”

During the arrest, an officer saw a bloody, serrated steak knife under Parent’s wheelchair, prosecutors noted.

Prosecutors previously alleged that Andujar – who was unemployed and living rent-free with Parent at the time of the murder – became enraged when Parent told him to move out of the home. Andujar claimed that he acted in self-defense during the encounter.

A jury returned a guilty verdict against Andujar in 2017, convicting him of first-degree murder and weapons offenses. Read More: Belleville Man Fatally Stabbed Roommate, Found Guilty

However, the New Jersey Appellate Court granted him a new trial because prosecutors did a background check on one of his jurors, leading to that juror’s arrest – a miscue that Andujar’s attorneys successfully appealed on grounds of discrimination, reports say.

After a multi-week trial, a jury found Andujar guilty of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose on Jan. 25.

Andujar faces life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 5, prosecutors said.

Assistant Prosecutor Michele Miller said Andujar “brutally stabbed” Parent about a dozen times in the stomach and twice in the back as he sat defenseless in his wheelchair.

“The defendant’s claim of self-defense didn’t stand up against the facts, the evidence and even his own statements made at the time of the murder,” Miller added. “We and the family of the victim are very grateful that the jury came to the same conclusion.”

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