FREEHOLD, NJ — Kenneth H. Knapp Jr., a 33-year-old Matawan resident, has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison for the murder of his father and the desecration of the remains. The sentencing was carried out by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Henry P. Butehorn on Thursday.
The investigation began when Matawan Police Department officers responded to a welfare check at the Knapp residence on May 1, 2022, after family and friends reported they could not reach 58-year-old Kenneth Knapp Sr. Police discovered his body in the basement, concealed within a tarp and placed inside a large plastic container.
Detectives from the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau, in collaboration with local police, determined that Knapp Jr., a former collegiate wrestler, had assaulted and killed his father in their home’s bathroom before hiding the body. He was apprehended in Somerset County on August 19, 2022, and has been held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since.
Earlier this year, Knapp Jr. entered guilty pleas to first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter and second-degree Desecration of Human Remains. Judge Butehorn sentenced him to 25 years for the manslaughter charge and an additional five years for desecration, both to be served consecutively. Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, Knapp Jr. must serve at least 85 percent of the manslaughter sentence before he is eligible for parole.