Manchester Mother Charged In Death Of Homebound Daughter Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter

A 54-year-old Manchester woman pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the 2013 death of her disabled daughter and will face between three to five years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said.

Janet Wilson, 54, of Manchester Township, will be treated as a third-degree offender under the terms of  plea agreement, he said.

Wilson will be subject to the No Early Release Act when she is sentenced on August 15 by Superior Court Judge Francis Hodgson. She will also have to serve three years probation after her jail sentence is completed, Coronato said.

Wilson was charged with aggravated manslaughter, desecrating human remains and neglect of a disabled adult in connection with the death of Rebecca Wilson, 32.

Manchester police responded to the home at 23 Fox Street in the Pine Ridge section of the township in May 2013 on a report of a strange odor coming from the house. They entered the house through forced entry and found the decomposed body of Rebecca Wilson, 32, and a deceased dog.

Authorities have said that Rebecca was a homebound disabled adult and depended on her mother for care.

The Manchester Township Police Investigations Bureau, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminalistics Investigation Unit, and the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office were summoned to the scene for further investigation.
    
Although authorities obtained a search warrant on May 31, 2013 to process the home, they were hampered by the condition of the house. Manchester Township Code Enforcement officials condemned the home and declared it unfit for human habitation.

Janet Wilson was located at the Vagabond Motel in Reno, Nevada on June 16, 2013. Township Police Detectives Al Vega and Craig Beaulieu, accompanied by Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Raymond Gardner boarded a flight to Nevada to continue the investigation.

They arrested Wilson on June 20, 2013, with assistance from Reno City police detectives. They also discovered that Wilson had not reported her daughter was dead and that Wilson was still receiving Rebecca's disability checks.
 
Janet Wilson was initially held in the Washoe County Jail, Reno, Nevada, waived extradition, and arrived back in New Jersey on July 4, 2013. 

The Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor filed the charges of Aggravated Manslaughter, Desecrating Human Remains, Neglect of a Disabled Adult and bail was set at $250,000 cash bail only.  Wilson has remained incarcerated in the Ocean County Jail since that date.  

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Manchester Township Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department all contributed to the investigation.