By: Yuritza Arroyo
Middlesex County authorities announced today that a man charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder has been sentenced to 55 years in prison.
According to officials, on November 2, Kenneth Saal pled guilty to first-degree Murder, second-degree Burglary, and fourth-degree Stalking in connection with the murder of Carolyn Byington, 26, of Plainsboro.
Authorities say during the plea, Saal stated that in April of 2019, he copied the victim’s house key while she was at work and used the key to enter her apartment on multiple days in the following months.
He recounted how he planted surveillance cameras to record her in her home without her knowledge.
According to authorities, Saal then described how he brutally murdered the victim on June 10, 2019, when she came home unexpectedly and discovered him in her home.
Authorities say Saal also pled guilty to first-degree Conspiracy to Commit Murder and second-degree Conspiracy to Commit Witness Tampering in connection with a plot that the Prosecutor’s office discovered.
Saal admitted that in an effort to derail his trial, originally scheduled to commence on December 5, he conspired to hire someone to commit a copycat murder to make it look like the true killer of Byington had not yet been apprehended.
He also acknowledged that as an alternative, he conspired to have one of two witnesses who were going to testify at his upcoming trial killed and have their murder staged as a suicide with a note claiming responsibility for Byington’s murder.
“We are grateful for the hard work and dedication from Lieutenant David Abromaitis and Sergeant Paul Kelley of the Prosecutor’s Office, Sergeant Timothy McMahon of the Plainsboro Police Department, and the work of other members of the various law enforcement agencies who assisted throughout the investigation of these crimes,” said Prosecutor Ciccone.
“Securing justice for the victim in this case would not have been possible if not for their collective efforts.”