Michael Maltese must serve at least 43 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A South Brunswick man will be spending at least the next 43 years in state prison after he was sentenced this morning in New Brunswick for strangling both his parents, burying their bodies in a park and then using their credit card for a shopping spree.
Michael Maltese, 22, was ordered to spend a total of 64 years in prison by Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz, of which he must serve at least 43 before he is eligible for parole.
Maltese was convicted in November of passion provocation manslaughter in the slaying of his father, Michael J. Maltese, 58; and mother, Kathleen Maltese, 54, on Oct. 8, 2008 in the mobile home they shared in South Brunswick.
The judge called the strangulation of the parents "particularly heinous," before he pronounced sentence.
Maltese's uncle, Jack Maltese, told the judge his nephew "should get the maximum" sentence for what he did.
Turning to his nephew, who sat next to his attorney, Jack Maltese said, "I don't know what was in your damn mind."
"You caused a lot of people pain," he said.
Lela Parent, Michael Maltese's oldest sister, told the judge, "I will never stop loving my brother or stop talking to my brother."
But, she said, "I don't want Michael to come out," of prison.
The killings tore the family apart. Family members, including Parent, blame Michael Maltese, but also believe his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Taylor, who was living with the family at the time of the killings, had more of a role in the killings than she has said.
Taylor testified at Maltese's trial after pleading guilty to two counts of accomplice to manslaughter that she helped did nothing to stop Michael from killing his father and restrained his mother as the father and son fought. She received a 10-year-sentence, of which she must serve eight years before she is eligible for parole.
When Michael Maltese began speaking to the judge, he was interrupted by another family member, who called out, "Michael, you still haven't said you're sorry after two years."
Maltese turned to his family and said, "I am sorry." and added, "I love everybody."
Authorities said an argument between Maltese and his father turned violent and ended up in the death of both parents. After the parents were dead, Maltese and Taylor cleaned their bodies, wrapped them in blankets and took them to a park in South Brunswick, where they buried them. The two then went on a spending spree, including an engagement ring for Taylor, but 10 days later, Maltese reported his parents missing at the insistence of his sisters who were concerned for the couple.
Maltese and Taylor initially told police the couple took off on a trip, but on Oct. 23, 2008, Maltese confessed to investigators that he killed his parents and led police to the bodies.