Central Jersey Man Who Killed Father, Hid His Body Sentenced: Prosecutors

A Monmouth County man will spend more than 20 years in prison after admitting to killing his father and hiding his body in their home almost two years ago, authorities said.

A cruiser for the Matawan (NJ) Police Department.
Photo Credit: *Facebook - Matawan Police Department*

Chris Spiker

04/19/2024 2:59 p.m.

Kenneth Knapp Jr., 32, of Matawan, was sentenced on Thursday, Apr. 18 to 30 years in state prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 23 to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree desecration of human remains.

Matawan police were called to the family's home on Matawan Avenue on Sunday, May 1, 2022, for a welfare check on 58-year-old Kenneth Knapp Sr. Friends and family members said they weren't able to contact him over the previous week.

Officers found Knapp Sr.'s body wrapped and tied up in a tarp that was inside a large plastic container in the basement. Investigators said Knapp Jr. assaulted and killed his father a week earlier.

Knapp Jr. was arrested in Somerset County on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, and was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. Santiago said Knapp Jr. is a former college wrestler.

Under the No Early Release Act, Knapp Jr. must serve 25-and-a-half years in prison before he can be eligible for parole.

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