⚖️ FREEHOLD MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER, CHILD ENDANGERMENT & ELUDING ⚖️
Jaden Thompson of Freehold pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges for a 2025 stabbing in Jackson Township. The nineteen-year-old fled the scene with an infant present and led police on a high-speed chase before his arrest in Edison.
📍 OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — September 3, 2026
A 19-year-old Freehold man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and eluding in connection with a stabbing in Jackson Township and a subsequent police pursuit in Middlesex County.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Jaden Thompson, 19, of Freehold, pleaded guilty on August 31, 2026, before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer.
🔪 JACKSON TOWNSHIP STABBING
On November 27, 2025, Jackson Township police responded to the Paragon Apartments on Larsen Road following a report of a stabbing.
Officers found a woman suffering from a stab wound to the abdomen. A 19-month-old infant was also found in the area where the stabbing occurred. The child was not injured.
The victim was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she was treated and later released.
Investigators determined Thompson was responsible for the stabbing. Authorities said he fled the area in a black Hyundai Sonata and was subsequently charged.
🚔 PURSUIT & ARREST
The following day, November 28, 2025, Edison Township police located the vehicle Thompson was allegedly driving.
When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, authorities said Thompson recklessly fled at a high rate of speed before crashing.
Thompson then attempted to escape on foot but was taken into custody nearby.
He was transported to the Ocean County Jail on November 29, 2025, where he has remained detained.
👶 Prosecutors included Endangering the Welfare of a Child among the charges stemming from the incident.
⚖️ SENTENCING
Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced on October 23, 2026.
The State is seeking:
🔹 10 years in NJ State Prison for Attempted Murder, subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA) 🔹 5 years for Endangering the Welfare of a Child 🔹 5 years for Eluding
The sentences are expected to run concurrently.
The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Jackson Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, Edison Township Police Department, Carteret Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.
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