Man Admits He Was Trying To Kill His Mother When He Beat Her With A Cane

MANCHESTER, NJ — A Manchester Township man admitted he was trying to kill his mother when he beat her with a cane during an argument in their Manchester home last summer, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Joseph M. Cavallaro, 45, pleaded guilty to attempted murder before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan in the attack on his mother on June 27, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

The 71-year-old woman was disoriented and bleeding from her face when Manchester police answered a 911 call to the home shortly after noon on June 27, authorities said. They found her on her back in the bathroom, and told police Cavallaro beat her after accusing her of calling the police after Cavallaro had argued with his daughter — despite her telling her son she had not called, the affidavit filed in the case said.

She started vomiting blood on the way to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and became unconscious, the affidavit said. Doctors found she had fractures to the bones around her eye, fractured ribs, cuts on her head and face and had suffered brain trauma, the affidavit said. She later recovered and was released from the hospital; prosecutors did not say how long she had been hospitalized.

Manchester police were called to the home at 12:17 p.m. June 27 by a neighbor who was walking his dog when the woman, who appeared to be crying, frantically gestured for the man to come over to her, authorities said. As the man walked over, a man — later identified as Cavallaro — came outside and ushered the woman back into the house, indicating he was trying to help her, authorities said.

When police arrived, they found blood on the front porch and saw broken glass and items thrown about the living area, authorities said. Police knocked on the door but no one responded, and as they waited for a response, they saw someone covering a window with a blanket, authorities said. Police then forced entry into the house and found the mother in the bathroom, the affidavit said.

Read more: Woman Beaten With Cane In Ocean County Was Threatened By Son, Affidavit Says

In entering his guilty plea, Cavallaro admitted to the court that his purpose in attacking his mother was to cause her death, Billhimer said.

Cavallaro is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, and prosecutors will be seeking a 10-year prison sentence subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, which requires serving 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Previous reporting: Woman, 71, Critical After Son Beats Her With A Cane: Ocean Prosecutor