A Union County grand jury has returned an indictment against a man accused of being responsible for a fatal stabbing in Elizabeth last fall, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Saturday.
Alexander Kerton, 34, was indicted for murder Friday in connection with the November 15, 2013 death of 67-year-old John Forte.
Forte was found stabbed to death in a boarding home on the 300 block of Morris Avenue in Elizabeth, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Albert Cernadas Jr., who is prosecuting the case. A joint investigation by the Elizabeth Police Department and the Homicide Task Force resulted in Kerton being identified as a suspect, and he was arrested several days later when two Elizabeth police officers spotted him walking several blocks away from the boarding home where both he and the victim had been living, Cernadas said.
Kerton also has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with a second stabbing that also took place in the boarding home during the same week as Forte’s death. The victim in that case, a 56-year-old man, survived the attack.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.