After years of physical abuse a husband has pleaded guilty to beating his wife, and withdrew his request to defend himself at his upcoming attempted murder trial, as reported by the New Jersey Herald.
J.A., 50, had originally denied the allegations that he nearly killed his wife, L.A., in a series of beatings that occurred from November 3 through 7, 2008.
J.A., indicted with attempted murder, pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated assault. He also faced a separate indictment – for intentionally crashing his car while his wife's sister was in the passenger seat – that was dismissed as a part of his plea deal.
Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti said that J.A. must serve 85 percent of his 10-year prison sentence before he would be eligible for parole. Sentencing is set with Judge Conforti for March 28.
Had J.A. been convicted of attempted murder he would have been looking at a 20-year incarceration.
Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Muller commented, "It was unexpected. The state fully anticipated that the trial was going to begin next week. Mr. (J.A.), since November of 2008, has denied that he caused any harm to his wife. I am happy to see today that he took responsibility for what happened."
Serious bodily injury, with the considerable probability of the injuries causing death warranted the second-degree assault charge – the most severe of assault offenses.
Beginning in November of 2008 J.A. has been housed in the Sussex County Jail.
During the five-day beating J.A. allegedly used his bare hands and body to cause injuries to L.A. that included permanent brain damage, impaired vision, memory loss and broken ribs and facial bones.
This was not J.A.'s first domestic violence charge in regards to his wife. In August 2006 he pleaded guilty to three counts and was given an 18-month sentence.
However, in the days before he was scheduled to begin his sentence, he beat his wife because she had testified against him. When officers performed a well-being check – on the actual day that J.A. was to begin his sentence – they found L.A. curled up in her bed and covered with bruises and scratches that she told officer were due to a fall "down the stairs."
The attorney representing J.A., Joseph Corazza, told reporters, "We are satisfied with the plea. We're satisfied that this matter was resolved appropriately."
Mueller added, "This case was a very difficult case. We did not have eyewitnesses, we did not have forensic evidence and the victim, because of the extent of her injuries, was unable to say that the defendant committed the crime (due to memory loss). When you have a lot of problems in a case like this, it's fairly common that a jury would compromise the verdict, which would result in the same outcome we obtained today. Given the difficulties and complexities in the case, the state is satisfied with the outcome."
If you have been the victim of domestic violence, contact a family law attorney to best represent you. Stopping the cycle abuse, as soon as you can, can help prevent you from further harm.