Maltese, Taylor jailed in connections with strangulation
By Hank Kalet and Sean Ruppert, South Brunswick Post
The 20-year-old township man accused of strangling his parents to death earlier this month pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in state Superior Court on Monday.
Michael A. Maltese, 20, of 14 Maple St., Monmouth Junction, was charged on Saturday with killing his parents and burying them in a shallow grave in Beech Woods Park on Beekman Road on Oct. 8.
Middlesex County Medical Examiner Andrew L. Falzon ruled Monday that the deaths of Michael J. Maltese, 58, and Kathleen Maltese, 53, were homicide and that the cause of death for both was “manual strangulation.”
Mr. Maltese, who had lived with his parents since August, faces two counts of murder, hindering his own apprehension, theft and unlawful use of his parents’ credit card. He was arrested Oct. 18 after police determined that he had provided false information to police after reporting his parents missing. He was charge in their murder on Saturday.
Also charged was Nicole Taylor, 18, who lived with the Maltese family and was the younger Maltese’s girlfriend. She faces two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, theft, unlawful use of the victim’s credit cards and hindering apprehension of another. Ms. Taylor also pleaded not guilty on Monday.
Superior Court Judge Frederick J. DeVesa, sitting in New Brunswick, ordered that Mr. Maltese and Ms. Taylor be returned to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick, where they had been held since their arrests. Bail for Mr. Maltese has been set at $2 million and for Ms. Taylor at $1 million.
The case is being sent to the grand jury, according to Assistant County Prosectuor Julie Davidson, who is handling the case.
Police said that the younger Maltese and his sister reported their parents missing on Oct. 17, telling police that they had not seen them since Oct. 10. The South Brunswick Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and New Jersey State Missing Person Unit began an investigation. According to a press release issued by police and the prosecutor’s office, “probable cause was developed that defendant Maltese had provided false information to law enforcement authorities.” He was charged with one count of false swearing and released on his own recognizance.
Further investigation determined that “the victims were murdered by their son Michael in their home during the early morning of Oct. 8,” the release said.
Police said that the bodies were taken to Beech Woods Park and “buried in a shallow grave.” The bodies were discovered Saturday morning. Police said that Mr. Maltese and Ms. Taylor stole the victims’ credit card after the murder.
Police said that the older Maltese was a self-employed truck driver and that his wife assisted him in his business. The younger Maltese was unemployed and Ms. Taylor worked at the Stop & Shop supermarket on Route 1.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Investigator Mullin at 732-745-4328 or South Brunswick Detective James Ryan at 732-239-4646.