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Background: A section of Lincoln Avenue in Barnegat Township, New Jersey (Google Maps). Inset left: Michael Mulgrew (Ocean County Jail). Inset right: Cheryl and Eugene Mulgrew (Barnegat Funeral Home).
A man from New Jersey has confessed to the brutal killing of his parents with a kitchen knife, following a heated argument over household responsibilities.
Michael Mulgrew, age 37, admitted guilt on Wednesday to two murder charges for the deaths of his parents, Eugene Mulgrew, 71, and Cheryl Mulgrew, 69, as reported by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors are pushing for two consecutive 30-year sentences without the possibility of parole, with the sentencing set for this summer.
On the night of November 1, 2023, Cheryl Mulgrew reached out to police and mental health services, seeking assistance for her son, according to an affidavit of probable cause referenced by NJ.com. Unfortunately, by the time a professional arrived at their Barnegat Township residence on Lincoln Avenue for an assessment, Michael had already departed.
Later that evening, Cheryl contacted the police once more, informing them that Michael had returned home, and they intended to visit a doctor the next morning.
Tragically, both Cheryl and Eugene Mulgrew were found dead the following day.
On Nov. 2, 2023, at about 11 a.m., officers with the Barnegat Township Police Department “were summoned” to a home on Lincoln Avenue to help medical personnel. As they approached, the officers spotted a man “walking away.”
They continued toward the residence and saw “red staining – which appeared to be blood – on the front door.” The officers entered, finding blood throughout the home, and as they entered a bedroom, they found “two victims with apparent stab wounds to their upper torsos” as well as a knife.
The victims were identified as Cheryl and Eugene Mulgrew.
Officers determined that the man walking away from the house was Michael Mulgrew, and they found him and took him into custody. He reportedly had a lot to say when investigators interviewed him.
The now-convicted defendant said he left his parents’ house the night before because he believed his family would hurt him, NJ.com reported. He then admitted to attacking his parents the next day with a kitchen knife during an argument about household chores before dragging their bodies into a bedroom, packing a bag, and leaving the house.
Michael Mulgrew will be sentenced on June 5.
Cheryl and Eugene Mulgrew were “childhood sweethearts” and married for nearly 50 years, their obituary states. “They were not only life partners but best friends and loving parents,” it states, adding, “Together, they created a home filled with warmth, laughter, and love.”