Body was stuffed into car
Alphonse Capell, second from left, stands in Superior Court in Somerville today with his attorney Robert Gaynor, seated center, as Capell is sentenced to 30 years by Judge John Pursel for the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Coty Micklo. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — A Somerset County man who killed his girlfriend and then dismembered her body today was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Alphonse Capell, 34, of Franklin Township received 20 years for killing 33-year-old Coty Micklo and 10 more years for desecrating her remains in 2006.
The penalty Superior Court Judge John Pursel imposed was the same one Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Hawkes and public defender Robert Gaynor agreed upon in April after extensive negotiations.
Capell initially was charged with murder for the young woman's death, but pleaded to guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree desecration of human remains. A murder conviction could have meant 30 years to life.
Capell and Micklo got into an argument in a Seaside Heights motel room in October 2006, and the dispute turned physical. Her body was found on Oct. 25, 2007, stuffed in Capell's Ford Mustang. The car was parked outside an apartment at Somerset Mews, where he lived, the state has said.
Previous coverage:
• Somerset County man admits killing, dismembering girlfriend with hacksaw
• Somerset County man withdraws attempt to block his statement about slaying