A college student pleaded guilty to murdering his mother in a New York City apartment before disposing of her body in a garbage can in Morristown, New Jersey.
Jared Eng, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder at the Manhattan Supreme Court on Sept. 16 for the murder of his 65-year-old mother, Paula Chin, in 2019.
Eng, who was a student at SUNY New Paltz, slashed his mother’s throat and brutally beat her on the head during a fight in their shared Tribeca apartment on Jan. 31, 2019, authorities said. With the help of his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, 18, they sanitized the apartment and brought the mutilated body to a family home in Morristown, New Jersey, using Chin’s vehicle. Eng’s other partner Caitlyn O’Rourke, 21, then helped Eng stuff the corpse into a garbage can at the property on Feb. 1.
After the murder, Eng changed the passwords of Chin’s bank accounts and searched for inheritance lawyers. His motive was to speed up his inheritance of $11 million, according to prosecutors.
His Google searches included ways to dispose of a body, such as “DIY bone meal.” In text messages sent to his girlfriends, Eng reportedly wrote, “It’s done” and “I’m free.”
Eng’s older brother Brandon reported Chin missing on Feb. 4. Police found the victim’s decomposing remains in the trash the next day. Investigators found bloody rubber gloves and bloodstains in both New Jersey and New York residences.
“This was a brutal and shocking murder of the defendant’s own mother, and while nothing can undo this tragedy, today’s guilty plea represents an important step towards justice,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement on Friday.
Eng faces a minimum of 18 years to life in prison. He was ordered to be held without bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18.
Lopez and O’Rourke were charged with lesser crimes, including concealment of a human corpse. Lopez was held on $100,000 bail and O’Rourke’s bail was set at $50,000. Both cases are still pending.
