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Brandon E. Petersen, 33, was sentenced Tuesday, August 22 to an aggregate 60-year state prison term subject to the No Early Release Act, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson said.
Petersen, who previously spent more than eight years behind bars for stabbing a neighbor during a robbery, will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence (51 years) before he is eligible for parole.
The ex-con was found guilty of first-degree murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and unlawful taking of a means of conveyance in May, Daily Voice reported.
He was arrested in Pennsylvania the morning after stabbing 38-year-old Michelle Carkhuff at a home on Kingwood Stockton Road in Delaware Township in December 2020.
Carkhuff was rushed by a friend to a Mercer County hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
“This is an unspeakably tragic case and senseless murder, which has left Michelle Carkuff’s family without what should have been years to build memories for a lifetime,” said Prosecutor Robeson. “Her family consistently attended every day of the trial and shared with the Court the depth of the loss they suffered.”
The investigation was carried out by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office (HCPO) Criminal Investigations Unit, the HCPO Office of Victim Witness Advocacy, the Delaware Township Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police Dublin Barracks, New Jersey State Police, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
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