HAZLET, NJ – Police in Hazlet have reported that Ernest K. Kotey, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder after breaking into his father’s home and attacking two relatives, killing one of them.
According to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey, Kotey, 43, was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree burglary, and second-degree domestic violence strangulation in connection with the death of Nikoi Kotey, 77, and neck injuries sustained by a 67-year-old female.
“Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, members of the Hazlet Police Department responded to a home on the 300 block of Middle Road and found Nikoi Kotey unresponsive in a bedroom. He was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 5:45 p.m. yesterday,” Linskey said, “An investigation involving members of the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau and the Hazlet Police Department determined that Ernest Kotey had broken into the home via a rear entrance, confronted his father, and physically attacked him, causing fatal injuries.”
He then returned downstairs to attack his aunt, grabbing her by the throat until she managed to free herself and escape the house. Kotey was arrested at the scene and later transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI), where he remains lodged pending a detention hearing to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court.