Closing Remarks Set to Begin in Trial of Middletown Man Accused of Murdering Wife

Closing arguments are set to begin Tuesday morning in the murder trial of a Middletown man who is charged in the 2011 strangulation death of his wife.

Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the courtroom of state Superior Court Judge John T. Mullaney Jr.

A grand jury indicted Patrick Allen, 45, of Middletown, in January 2013 on charges of first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, third-degree hindering the apprehension of another, and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence.

On Nov. 18, 2011 around 11:45 a.m., Middletown police were called to the Allen home on West Front Street in Lincroft. There they found the victim, Kimberly Allen, 44, dead on the kitchen floor, with Patrick Allen on the scene.

An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Middletown Township Police Department revealed that Allen and his wife were involved in a struggle that allegedly led to Allen striking his wife with a frying pan.

The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the cause of death was homicidal violence, including asphyxia and blunt impact injuries to the head. As a result of the investigation, Allen was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife on that same day, on November 18.