Mount Arlington Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison For Felony Murder of Neighbor

Published on July 01, 2013

Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp announces that the Honorable Mary Gibbons Whipple, J.S.C. sentenced Danny Cole, age 42, of Mount Arlington, New Jersey, to 40 years in State Prison in connection with the felony murder of his neighbor, Barbara Wilson, age 77, also of Mount Arlington.

On May 21, 2013, defendant pled guilty to First Degree Felony Murder, Second Degree Burglary and Fourth Degree Obstruction of a Governmental Function.

On February 6, 2011, at approximately 1 p.m., officers with the Mt. Arlington Police Department found the body of Barbara Wilson inside her home at 421 Howard Boulevard in Mount Arlington, New Jersey. The victim was widowed and lived alone.

The victim suffered trauma to her head and face. She was wearing a nightgown. She was bound with duct tape around her ankles. Portions of her residence were in disarray. On or about February 6, 2011, an autopsy was conducted by Morris County Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Carlos Fonseca. He certified the manner of death as homicide and the cause of death to be blunt force trauma. Dr. Fonseca opined that Barbara Wilson's time of death was somewhere between 12 and 24 hours before her body was found.

The discovery of the victim led to an investigation into her death. This investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies including the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit (MCU), the New Jersey State Police, the Morris County Park Police, Mt. Arlington Police Department, Roxbury Police Department and Morris County Sheriff's Office. Detective Thomas Laird of the MCU served as lead detective for the investigation.

DNA collected from the duct tape that was left at the crime scene, was matched to the defendant. During the investigation law enforcement officers matched a blue garbage pail lid in Ms. Wilson's home to a container found in the defendant's home along with at least two tote-like bins which were missing from the spare bedroom the victim was found in. On February 15, 2011 these bins were recovered in defendant's apartment along with a television set that was missing from the victim's master bedroom. The defendant was indicted on December 20, 2011.

The Honorable Mary Gibbons Whipple, J.S.C. sentenced the defendant to 40 years in State Prison on the guilty plea to Felony Murder pursuant to the No Early Release Act. The Burglary conviction merged as a matter of law. He was also sentenced to 18 months in State Prison on the guilty plea to Obstructing a Governmental Function. The sentences shall run concurrently.

Assistant Prosecutor/SDAG Tracy Dannis and Senior Trial Counsel/SDAG John K. McNamara, Jr. represented the State at the sentencing.

Acting Morris County Prosecutor Knapp stated, The senseless and tragic death of Barbara Wilson compelled this sentence. Her extended family and friends grieve this loss of their mother, grandmother, aunt and friend. We hope that this sentence in some way helps them through this difficult time.

Acting Prosecutor Knapp thanks the New Jersey State Police, the Morris County Sheriff's Office, Police Chief Keith Licata and the Mt. Arlington Police Department, Chief David Wieland and the Morris County Park Police, Chief James Simonetti and the Roxbury Police Department, Chief Kevin Craig and the Jefferson Police Department, the Morris County Office of Emergency Management, the Morris County Medical Examiner and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit who assisted in the investigation and resolution of this matter.

Any inquiries can be directed to First Assistant Morris County Prosecutor/SDAG Thomas Zelante at 973-285-6252 or tzelante@co.morris.nj.us.