A Camden man pled guilty today to aggravated manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of a Hamilton Township man in August of 2014, Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain announced.
At 12:12 a.m. on August 14, 2014, Hamilton Township Police, Rescue, and paramedics responded to Inland Estates for a 9-1-1 call from a neighbor who had found a man lying on the ground outside.
Upon arrival, police found William R. Strock, 41, of the Inland Estates mobile home park on the Black Horse Pike, bleeding from an apparent stab wound to his torso.
Strock was transported by ambulance to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center—City Division, where he was later pronounced dead.
An eight-month-long investigation by Hamilton Township Police Department detectives and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit led to the arrest on May 7, 2015 of Richard L. Ferrara, then 49, of the 600 block of Market Street, Camden, charged with murder for the stabbing death of William R. Strock.
At the time of the incident, Ferrara had been staying at the victim’s home. Ferrara was arrested at the Atlantic County Justice Facility, where he was being held on an unrelated matter.
Ferrara was held in the Atlantic County Justice Facility on $1,000,000 full cash bail set by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Raymond A. Batten, where Ferrara has since remained.
On December 15, 2015, an Atlantic County Grand Jury indicted Ferrara was indicted on three counts:
Murder—a crime of the 1st degree,
Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose—a 3rd degree crime, and
Unlawful Possession of a Weapon—a 4th degree crime.
Today, Thursday, June 23, 2016, as part of a negotiated plea agreement, Ferrara pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Michael Blee. According to the plea agreement, Ferrara is subject to a sentence of incarceration in New Jersey State Prison for 15 years.
Pursuant to the No Early Release Act (NERA), Ferrara must serve 85% of the sentence—12 years and 9 months—before becoming eligible for parole.
Ferrara is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Blee on July 28. 2016. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Cary Shill represented the State in the matter.