WOMAN INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES
TRENTON
– A woman who allegedly strangled a Hamilton man to death during a sex act
last year was indicted today on a murder charge, Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel
G. Giaquinto announced.
Marlene
Denise Schmucker (DOB 12/1/72), who had no recent address, was charged in a
single-count indictment in the death of William H. Roberts, 33, of the Yardville
section of Hamilton. The killing occurred July 24, 1999. If convicted, Schmucker
could be sentenced to life in prison, required to spend at least 63 years in
prison without parole, Giaquinto said.
The
defendant allegedly tightened a belt around the victim’s neck while performing
a sex act on him as they sat in Roberts’ car, which was parked in the 1000
block of Melrose Avenue at about 3:45 p.m.
Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Kathryn Flicker, who presented the case to the grand jury, said in court during Schmucker’s bail hearing last year that the victim, defendant and Schumucker’s boyfriend had been sharing crack cocaine.
When
the boyfriend, whose name has not been released, left the car, Schmucker and the
victim engaged in a sex act that involved choking, according to information
released during the bail hearing.
The
victim struck Schmucker as a signal to stop but she instead became enraged and
choked the man to death, according to information released during the bail
hearing.
Despite having been indicted, every
defendant is presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in
a court of law.