NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The fate of a 19-year-old who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death at a train station in Abington is now in the hands of a jury.
Gilbert Newton III could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing 18-year-old Morgan McCaffery about 37 times at the Meadowbrook SEPTA Station on July 27, 2020.
Defense attorney Charles Peruto Jr. concedes Newton killed her, but he argues it was not premeditated, so it should be third-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. Prosecutors are pushing for first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life-in-prison sentence.
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Prosecutors point to dozens of text messages from Newton in the days and weeks leading up the killing, including one to McCaffery, in which he said he wanted to stab her in the neck repeatedly. He also sent similar texts to his mother, including one the night before the killing that said he would cut McCaffery’s head off if she didn’t come back to him.
Peruto told the jury that Newton said a lot of things, as he’s just “an idiot kid, an immature kid.” He points to Newton’s testimony on Tuesday, where he told the jury he brought two knives because he was going to kill himself, not McCaffery, but he snapped and killed her instead.
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Prosecutor Kathleen McLaughlin, noting she does not mean to make light of suicide, argued Newton used it to manipulate people, including McCaffery, and “now he’s trying to get you to take pity on him. It’s a sham,” she said.
Not only are the texts enough to show premeditation, but McLaughlin pointed to the fact that he brought two knives to meet her that day, as well as the number of times he stabbed her.
Suicide should not be taken lightly. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text “hello” to 741741.