Man Admits to Fatally Stabbing Woman, Setting Her on Fire: Prosecutor

A Camden man has admitted in court to fatally stabbing a woman and setting her on fire in the city in 2013.

Charles Sheppard, 26, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 38-year-old Camden woman Rhonda Scott, Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said on Wednesday.

Sheppard admitted he stabbed Scott to death in an abandoned home on the 1700 block of Tioga Street in Camden at about 6:42 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2013. She was stabbed multiple times and was then set on fire. The cause of death was the stab wounds.

Under the terms of the plea, Sheppard will be sentenced to 30 years in state prison without being eligible parole.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 3.