EHT Man Gets 40 Years For Murdering Girlfriend With Hammer

A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday for repeatedly striking his girlfriend with a hammer and killing her in Egg Harbor Township, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Lashaun Smith admitted to killing Sarah Phillips, 28, by striking her in the head with a hammer four times while she slept, the ACPO said. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last month.

Egg Harbor Township police received a 911 call at 5:04 a.m. Nov. 3 2018 about an injured woman inside 4 S. Zion Road, the ACPO said. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

An investigation from the ACPO Major Crimes Unit and EHTPD resulted in Smith's arrest. After an autopsy on Phillips, officials determined her death stemmed from multiple blunt- and sharp-force injuries in a homicide.

Smith, 36, must serve 85 percent of his sentence in New Jersey state prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, the ACPO said.