Long Branch Man Admits to Death of Marlboro Woman

Marlboro Township, NJ - A Long Branch man admitted Friday he caused the September 2013 death of a young Marlboro woman, who was a student at the time at Monmouth University.

The fatal collision occurred in 2013, while the woman was outside her vehicle following a minor fender bender with another vehicle on Joline Avenue in Long Branch, said Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Joseph Stovall, 48, pleaded guilty to second degree Vehicular Homicide admitting he caused the death of Victoria Tropper, 21, of Marlboro. Stovall also pleaded guilty to fourth degree Assault by Auto admitting he caused injuries to Thomas E. Triano, 52, of Cherry Hill. Stovall also admitted he was driving under the influence of Xanax, despite not having a valid prescription for the drug.

As part of his plea, prosecutors will recommend Stovall receive a sentence of five years in a New Jersey state prison, requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole.

Long Branch police responded to the report of a motor vehicle accident along Joline Avenue around 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2013. Tropper and Triano, 49, were involved in a minor fender bender and pulled their vehicles into the shoulder to inspect the damage and exchange information. The two were standing between their respective vehicles when the Dodge Ram pick-up truck driven by Stovall swerved into the shoulder colliding with Tropper’s vehicle pushing it into Triano causing multiple lacerations before striking and killing Tropper.

Tropper was a senior at Monmouth University at the time, majoring in psychology.