Judge offers deal for guilty plea

Mansfield man charged with murdering girlfriend in 2005

By: Molly Petrilla
   MANSFIELD — A township man charged with murdering his pregnant girlfriend a year ago must stand trial Dec. 18 unless he decides to withdraw his not-guilty plea and accept a plea bargain offered by prosecutors.
   This ruling came Monday from Superior Court Judge Patricia Richmond LeBon during a status hearing on the case. If convicted by a jury, Mr. Singleton faces life in prison, but according to Sgt. Jack Smith of the Burlington County prosecutor’s office, prosecutors have offered him a 30-year sentence if he pleads guilty to multiple charges, including murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and hindering apprehension.
   The 27-year-old Mansfield resident is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Ms. Cazan, 38, on Sept. 13, 2005 in the bedroom they shared on Augusta Drive.
   On Sept. 14, 2005, Mr. Singleton told police he had stabbed Ms. Cazan twice and shot her four times because she refused to give him the keys to her car, a court affidavit states.
   According to the court affidavit, the couple had been arguing over "religious issues" on a trip to northern New Jersey the night of the murder. When they returned home, Mr. Singleton took a .38-caliber handgun from the bathroom and demanded the keys to Ms. Cazan’s BMW, the affidavit states. After she refused to hand them over, Mr. Singleton allegedly shot her and then stabbed her with a butterfly knife.
   Mr. Singleton’s confession and subsequent arrest came after he attempted to flee the scene early on Sept. 14, 2005. He traveled from Mansfield to Pennsylvania, and then to the Baltimore area before eventually being driven home by his sister and surrendering to police.
   Despite his initial confession, Mr. Singleton pleaded not guilty in state Superior Court in March.
   Mr. Singleton has been held in the Burlington County Jail since his arrest in lieu of $300,000 bail.