New Jersey man stabs mother to death while she was sleeping: police

HOWELL TWP., New Jersey -- A New Jersey man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing his mother to death while she slept, police say.

The attack took place in the early hours of Monday at approximately 1:30 a.m. when 25-year-old Robert Parody of Howell Township, New Jersey, reportedly entered his mother's bedroom on Porter Road while she slept and stabbed 61-year-old Loretta Parody in the chest, according to a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office released on Monday.

"An investigation involving members of the Major Crimes Bureau and the Howell Township Police Department revealed that Robert Parody had entered his mother's bedroom and stabbed her in the chest while she slept," authorities said. "He remains lodged at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending a detention hearing."

The Howell Township Police Department responded shortly after 1:30 a.m. and reported to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Bureau that a stabbing had taken place.

"The first arriving officers quickly located Robert Parody and took him into custody without incident, while Loretta Parody was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment, where she was later pronounced deceased," authorities said.

Police did not reveal a possible motive in the case or whether the suspect or the victim were known to authorities before the attack.

The case has now been preliminarily assigned to Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner, Director of the Major Crimes Bureau, and anyone with information regarding this case is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Josh Rios at 800-533-7443 or Howell Township Police Sergeant Nick Saltzman at 732-938-4111.