New Jersey man stabs sleeping mother: police

A New Jersey man was arrested after allegedly stabbing his mother to death in her sleep, police said.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Monday around 1:30 a.m. when 25-year-old Robert Parody of Howell Township, New Jersey, reportedly entered his mother’s bedroom on Porter Road while she was sleeping and stabbed 61-year-old Loretta Parody in the chest, according to a statement released Monday by the Monmouth County District Attorney’s Office.

“An investigation involving members of the Major Crimes Bureau and the Howell Township Police Department revealed that Robert Parody entered his mother’s bedroom and stabbed her in the chest while she was sleeping,” authorities said. “He remains housed in the Monmouth County Correctional Facility pending a detention hearing.”

Howell Township Police responded shortly after 1:30 a.m. and reported a stabbing to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit.

“First arriving officers quickly located Robert Parody and took him into custody without incident, while Loretta Parody was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment where she was later pronounced dead,” authorities said.

Police did not disclose a possible motive in the case, nor did they say whether the suspect or victim were known to authorities before the attack.

The case has now been provisionally assigned to Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogner, Director of the Major Crimes Bureau. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact MCPO Detective Josh Rios at 800-533-7443 or Howell Township Police Sergeant Nick Saltzman at 732-938-4111.