23-year-old Mount Laurel woman charged with stabbing her mother to death

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Sunday, September 8, 2019
23-year-old Mount Laurel woman charged with stabbing her mother to death
23-year-old Mount Laurel woman charged with stabbing her mother to death. Watch this update from September 7, 2019.

MOUNT LAUREL, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A 23-year-old woman has been charged with stabbing her mother to death inside their Burlington County apartment.

Officials said the incident happened around 3:30 a.m. Friday inside the unit they shared at the Ramblewood Village Apartments in Mount Laurel.

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Mount Laurel Township Police Chief Stephen Riedener announced Saturday that Marisa Rivera, of the first block of Pine Cove, was charged with Murder (First Degree), Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree), and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Fourth Degree).

Officials said Rivera killed her mother, 56-year-old Denise DeNapoli, and then fled the apartment.

DeNapoli's coworkers called police after they didn't hear from her. Once on the scene, officers discovered her body.

Rivera was found by police Friday night at a Route 73 hotel and taken into custody without incident.

Officials said the motive continues to be investigated.