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Kenneth Knapp Jr., 32, of Matawan, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 23 to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree desecration of human remains. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced the guilty plea on Thursday, Jan. 25.
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.
Prosecutors are recommending 25 years in state prison for aggravated manslaughter and five additional years for desecration. Knapp Jr. would be required to serve 85 percent of his aggravated manslaughter sentence before he could be eligible for parole under the state's No Early Release Act.
Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, Apr. 18.
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