A 65-year-old Toms River man was convicted Wednesday of trying to kill a Manchester woman by slitting her throat, police said.
A jury needed 10 minutes to convict Robert H. Hankins of first-degree attempted murder; third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.
Hankins is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, March 28, before Judge Wendel E. Daniels at 9 a.m. He is facing potentially up to 26.5 years in New Jersey State Prison; on the attempted murder conviction alone, he is facing 20 years subject to the No Early Release Act.
Hankins has been continuously incarcerated since January 4, 2012 and now his bail has been revoked, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
On Dec. 31, 2011, at approximately 11:53 p.m., Hankins approached Diane Sasso, 58, of Whiting at the American Legion in Lakewood, pulled out a knife and slit her throat.
He then proceeded to go outside the American Legion and slit his own throat. Both victim and defendant were transported to Jersey Shore Medical Center, according to the prosecutor's office.
Sasso suffered life-threatening injuries since her anterior jugular vein was cut. She has not worked since that day and suffers from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress), authorities said
The trial started on Tuesday, Jan. 21 and ended Wednesday February 12, 2014. Assistant Prosecutor Ehsan F. Chowdhry prosecuted the case. The defense attorney is Michael G. Vito.
The case investigators were Det. Thomas Tiernan and Det. Monica Schuler. They were instrumental in this guilty verdict, according to authorities.
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