GUILTY NJ - Carolyn Byington, 26, killed inside her home, Plainsboro, 10 June 2019 *Arrest* #2

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Interesting that he's on his THIRD lawyer. Usually when you have so many lawyer changes it's because you are a terrible client and don't like what the lawyer is telling you which is usually based in reality....

from the article above: Hackensack-based defense attorney Brian Neary said he recently picked up discovery in the case from Saal's former attorney Christian Fleming. Neary is the third attorney to represent Saal.
 
scdiv said:
Interesting that he's on his THIRD lawyer. Usually when you have so many lawyer changes it's because you are a terrible client and don't like what the lawyer is telling you which is usually based in reality....

from the article above: Hackensack-based defense attorney Brian Neary said he recently picked up discovery in the case from Saal's former attorney Christian Fleming. Neary is the third attorney to represent Saal.
Click to expand...
Are these attorney's privately paid or appointed by the court? Do we know? This is an issue that is surfacing more and more. Switching attorneys, either for delay purposes or because clients are uncooperative. I know Courts/Judges are getting real sick of it. But it presents due process concerns.
 
Oh these are not public defenders. These are high priced private defense attorneys.

Regarded as one of the premier criminal defense lawyers in New Jersey, founding lawyer Brian J. Neary devotes his entire practice to the defense of those...

It looks like his last attorney was a general practice law firm and personal injury attorney. This new attorney's entire practice appears to be devoted to defending people accused of crimes....

The very first attorney he had, he hired BEFORE police had even named him as a suspect or charged him with murder...

The New Jersey accountant charged in the fatal knifing of his co-worker hired an attorney days after the murder to find out more about the investigation, raising initial red flags to authorities, law enforcement sources told The Post Friday.

Kenneth Saal hired attorney after Carolyn Byington's murder
 
Last edited:
N.J. man charged with killing coworker on lunch break headed for trial, new lawyer says

The case is scheduled for a status conference on Sept. 2. It’s unclear if the original plea bargain is still on the table.

A spokesperson for the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said a trial has not been scheduled ahead of the scheduled September appearance. “However, generally speaking, when case proceeds to trial, plea negotiations terminate."
 
N.J. man charged with killing coworker on lunch break headed for trial, new lawyer says

Aug 3, 2021

Brian J. Neary, Saal’s third defense attorney, said he is getting up to speed on the case, having been hired in late May.

“I’ve been asked to represent him at a trial,” he said. “We’re preparing for a trial.”

A spokesperson for the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said a trial has not been scheduled ahead of the scheduled September appearance. “However, generally speaking, when case proceeds to trial, plea negotiations terminate,” spokesperson Assistant Prosecutor Conner Ouellette said.

Saal has maintained his innocence several times in court appearances, and a former defense attorney even called Saal’s father to the stand to offer an alibi in a hearing to determine if Saal should remain jailed pending trial - an unusual move in such a hearing.
 
From August 2019:

PLAINSBORO TOWNSHIP, NJ — A man accused of murdering his co-worker by stabbing her with an unknown object during her lunch break was arrested after his DNA was found near her fingernails, court documents reveal.

Kenneth C. Saal, 30 of Lindenwold was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the June death of 26-year-old Carolyn Byington, of Plainsboro, this week, authorities announced. He was arrested at his home on Wednesday after a DNA lab conducted testing on numerous people as part of the investigation.

On Aug. 19, the lab that conducted the testing told the prosecutor's office that Saal "couldn't be excluded as a match for Y-STR DNA" that was found under Byington's fingernails, according to a copy of the complaint provided by the Middlesex County Court.

New Details As Co-Worker Charged In NJ Woman's Lunch-Break Murder
 
MissyMom said:
This case was due for a status conference on September 2nd. I wonder what is going on. I haven’t found any updates. Justice for Carolyn.
Click to expand...

Same. last I recall -- it was unknown if the plea agreement was still on the table.

Now, the case is scheduled for a status conference on Sept. 2. It’s unclear if the original plea bargain is still on the table Brian J. Neary, Saal’s third defense attorney, said he is getting up to speed on the case, having been hired in late May.

8/3/21 N.J. man charged with killing coworker on lunch break headed for trial, new lawyer says
 
realanastasia said:
Anyone find any updates on this? Especially curious about whether he took the plea deal he was apparently offered last year (how time flies, though surely not for Caroline’s family). If not, has there been a trial date set for the accused?

Edited to add: Kenneth Saal is not listed as an inmate in any of the NJ Dept. of Corrections facilities—the last news reports I could find about the case, from mid-2020, said he was in Middlesex County Jail, so I’m puzzled that he doesn’t show up in the inmate search on the NJDOC website here:
Attention
Is it possible he is out on bail?
Click to expand...

I don't see him getting bail, at all, ever.
I don't know how things work in NJ, but here in NC, when someone is arrested by non-federal agencies, the one arrested is put into the county jail where the incident occurred. The individual then stays in the county jail up to and during the trial. If s/he is convicted and jail-time is the penalty, s/he then becomes the responsibility of the State, so s/he is taken from the courtroom straight to a state prison when convicted. That's just how it happens in NC and a few other states with which I'm familiar -- I don't know about NJ.
 
I found this -- from August, 2019, re his incarceration, etc. It's probably a repeat, but here is an excerpt:
-------------------------------
Kenneth Saal hired attorney before being suspected in Carolyn Byington’s murder

By
Craig McCarthy,

Olivia Bensimon and

Natalie Musumeci
August 23, 2019 2:40pm Updated
[...]
“Other coworkers advised detectives that Saal’s demeanor changed after Byington’s death,” according to an affidavit filed Thursday. “Unprompted, Saal asked one coworker if he could [be] arrested based on circumstantial evidence alone.”

Meanwhile, Saal made a brief court appearance Friday at Middlesex County Superior Court where he entered a plea of not guilty in the case, his lawyer said.


Saal’s detention hearing was adjourned until Tuesday. He remains held at the Middlesex County jail.


A lawyer for Saal, Matthew Teeter, told reporters after court that his client is “cloaked in a presumption of innocence until he’s proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”


“I believe that often people in this country lose sight of that and so I would ask that the public respect the family of the victim, respect the Saal family, let the process play out, but don’t forget and definitely don’t lose sight of the fact that he is cloaked in a presumption of innocence until he’s proven guilty,” Teeter said.
---------------------------
More here:
Kenneth Saal hired attorney after Carolyn Byington's murder

 
MissyMom said:
Where is he getting the money for these high priced lawyers? I don’t think he was highly paid as a Junior Accountant. Family?
Click to expand...

No idea... If he has his CPA, his salary would command a pretty fair amount; if not, probably an average salary for NJ, whatever that might be.
Attorneys for a murder charge can start at around $100,000 or more, as we know. Family members? Who knoze?
 
borndem said:
I found this -- from August, 2019, re his incarceration, etc. It's probably a repeat, but here is an excerpt:
-------------------------------
Kenneth Saal hired attorney before being suspected in Carolyn Byington’s murder

By
Craig McCarthy,

Olivia Bensimon and

Natalie Musumeci
August 23, 2019 2:40pm Updated
[...]
“Other coworkers advised detectives that Saal’s demeanor changed after Byington’s death,” according to an affidavit filed Thursday. “Unprompted, Saal asked one coworker if he could [be] arrested based on circumstantial evidence alone.”

Meanwhile, Saal made a brief court appearance Friday at Middlesex County Superior Court where he entered a plea of not guilty in the case, his lawyer said.


Saal’s detention hearing was adjourned until Tuesday. He remains held at the Middlesex County jail.


A lawyer for Saal, Matthew Teeter, told reporters after court that his client is “cloaked in a presumption of innocence until he’s proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”


“I believe that often people in this country lose sight of that and so I would ask that the public respect the family of the victim, respect the Saal family, let the process play out, but don’t forget and definitely don’t lose sight of the fact that he is cloaked in a presumption of innocence until he’s proven guilty,” Teeter said.
---------------------------
More here:
Kenneth Saal hired attorney after Carolyn Byington's murder

Click to expand...

Seattle1 said:
Thanks, @bears10. I believe OP was unsuccessful in locating KS here. I know not all County Jail inmates are reflected in the vinelink database but a good resource to continue checking.

VINELink

KENNETH SAAL
Custody Record
Age31
GenderMale
RaceWhite

Ethnicity Unknown
Date of Birth Jul **, ****
ID Number12001*****

Custody Status Date Aug 22, 2019 12:52 AM EDT
Custody StatusIn Custody
Custody Detail Middlesex County Adult Correction Center
Book Date Aug 22, 2019 12:13 PM EDT

Middlesex County Adult Correction Center
Apple Orchard Ln & Route 130
North Brunswick Township, NJ 08902
(732) 297-3636
Click to expand...

Per Vinelink -- KS hasn't moved one iota from Middlesex County Jail (New Brunswick, NJ) since he was booked Aug 22, 2019.

VINELink
 
reallyplainsboro said:
Two and half years no trial, no plea deal…

His baby who was under a year is now over 3 years old.

Any way you slice it, justice has not been served. This case must happen before the three year mark or there will be serious issue.
Click to expand...

NJ had a COVID State of Emergency for more than a year. There were some Zoom trials but Court activities were severely impacted and some parties did not want a video trial.
 
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