MARLBORO, NJ — A Marlboro resident has admitted to killing a man in the early hours of New Year's Day in 2024, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.
During a hearing held on Wednesday before Monmouth County Superior Court Assignment Judge Marc C. Lemieux, Carl A. Richards, 41, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, Santiago said.
Richards' guilty plea comes after Marlboro Police responded to a home on Texas Road in the Morganville section of town shortly after 12:45 a.m. on January 1, 2024.
Police were called to the home for an urgent request for medical attention for a man who had been assaulted there, Santiago said.
Once authorities arrived at the home, the victim, identified as George L. Mott III, 64, was found unresponsive, with severe trauma to his head, face, and neck.
Mott was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased about an hour later.
An investigation by the Major Crimes Bureau of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and Marlboro Police revealed that Richards attacked Mott and "repeatedly physically assaulted him," which led to his death.
Both Mott and Richards resided at the home where the attack took place, and the investigation further determined that Mott was a long-term partner to Richards's mother.
According to Patch's previous reporting, Richards' three children were at home at the time of the attack and hid in a closet during the incident.
Mott was "like a grandfather" to the children and a longtime boyfriend of their late grandmother, Richard's mother, court documents said.
When police arrived at the scene, they were told by witnesses that there was a dispute with Mott over possibly stealing from Richards and his wife, and as a result, Richards "beat the crap out of" Mott, court documents said.
Richards provided multiple statements to law enforcement, both on scene and at Marlboro Township Police Department.
While he initially indicated that Mott was the first to strike him, he later stated that he tried to borrow a cigarette from Mott and when Mott refused, Richards confronted him about stealing cigarettes from his room, Patch previously reported.
Richards said he tried to show Mott a video on his phone of Mott entering his bedroom without permission on a prior occasion, and in response Mott slapped the phone away from him.
Although he initially denied punching Mott and said he only slapped him, Richards then admitted to punching Mott a minimal number of times and then said he punched Mott while holding him in a chokehold approximately seven to eight times, an affidavit filed in the case said.
Richards described getting elbowed in the face by Mott while he had Mott constrained in the chokehold, and appeared to have bruised eyes.
During Richards' interviewed statement, he denied any "prior personal animosity against Mott and denied any prior motivation" for the attack, court documents said.
According to the affidavit, the children said Richards told Mott, "You'd be dead right now if it wasn't for these kids," after the attack was over.
Following his arrest, Richards was detained in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI); an indictment in the case was returned in March 2024.
Sentencing in the case has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, at which time the state intends to seek a term of 30 years in state prison, subject to New Jersey's No Early Release Act (NERA), which mandates that 85 percent of a sentence be served before the possibility of parole.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Caitlin J. Sidley of the Major Crimes Bureau.
Carl A. Richards is represented by Edwin Wu, Esq., with an office in Freehold.
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