Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that a 30-year-old Riverton resident was convicted of fatally stabbing a man during the spring of 2023 at the Rodeway Inn on Route 73 in Mount Laurel.
After deliberating for approximately five hours, a Superior Court jury last week found Taylor Perkins guilty of Manslaughter (Second Degree), Eluding (Second Degree), two counts of Theft by Unlawful Taking (Third Degree), Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree) and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Fourth Degree).
The Hon. Richard J. Nocella, J.S.C., scheduled sentencing for October 18 in Mount Holly.
The investigation began April 20, 2023 after officers from the Mount Laurel Police Department were called to the hotel just before 10 a.m. for a report of two men fighting. They found the body of Michael Jefferies, 36, on the ground outside of a second-floor room near a stairwell.
The investigation determined that after stabbing Jefferies, Perkins fled on foot to a nearby BMW dealership and drove off in a sport utility vehicle. He abandoned the SUV in Evesham and stole a truck belonging to an Xfinity worker who was up on a ladder working at the time. He was eventually apprehended at a residence on Decatur Street in Camden.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood concluded that Jefferies, of Mount Laurel, died from multiple stab wounds.
Perkins was prosecuted by BCPO Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Conte.
The investigation was conducted by the Mount Laurel Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Camden County Police Department, the Cherry Hill Police Department and the Evesham Township Police Department.
The lead investigators were BCPO Detectives Shawn McDonough and Melyssa Alonso, and MLPD Detective Matthew Jankaitis.