A 19-year-old Freehold man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges stemming from a Thanksgiving night stabbing at a Jackson Township apartment complex and a police pursuit the following day, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
As Lakewood Alerts reported at the time, Jaden Thompson was arrested following the November 27, 2025 stabbing at the Paragon Apartments on Larsen Road.
Thompson pleaded guilty on Monday, August 31, before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer to Attempted Murder, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Eluding.
Jackson Township Police responding to the apartment complex found a woman suffering from a stab wound to the abdomen. A 19-month-old infant was also found in the area where the stabbing occurred but was not injured.
The woman was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she was treated and later released.
Investigators determined that Thompson was responsible for the stabbing and had fled the area in a black Hyundai Sonata. He was charged later that day, and his information was entered into the National Crime Information Center database.
The following day, November 28, 2025, Edison Township Police located the vehicle Thompson was using. When officers attempted to stop him, authorities said Thompson recklessly sped away before crashing the vehicle.
Thompson then attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended nearby. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail on November 29, 2025, and has remained detained there since.
At Thompson’s sentencing, scheduled for October 23, prosecutors will seek a 10-year New Jersey State Prison sentence on the attempted murder charge, subject to the No Early Release Act. The State will also seek five-year prison terms on both the child endangerment and eluding charges.
All three sentences are expected to run concurrently.
Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Kaitlyn Burke is handling the case for the State.
Prosecutor Billhimer credited the Jackson Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit and K-9 Unit, Edison Township Police Department, Carteret Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service for their work in the investigation.
