Overview
- Police say officers forced entry to the Ocean Township home on May 27 and found 66-year-old Stacy E. Kless dead in the basement with a barbell resting across her neck and throat.
- Court records show Michael A. Kless, 67, sent an email and texts to family that prosecutors say described a “long-simmering hatred” and included details that matched the scene.
- After leaving the house, investigators tracked Kless north on the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey State Police found him unconscious in a car at a rest stop where he had attempted an overdose; he was hospitalized and placed in custody.
- Prosecutors charged Kless with first-degree murder and related third- and fourth-degree weapons offenses, and at a probable-cause hearing he pleaded not guilty while his attorney argued self-defense.
- Investigators seized multiple electronic devices, classified the case as domestic violence, and a judge ordered Kless held as a potential flight risk as prosecutors continue forensic review and pretrial proceedings.