Anne Castagna, now 46, admitted in court that she had mixed antifreeze into a drink for her grandmother-in-law, Mary Groatman, in August 2012.
WOODBURY -- A Brooklawn woman pleaded guilty on Monday to poisoning her husband's grandmother with antifreeze, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office has announced.
The aggravated manslaughter plea comes just one day before jury selection for a murder trial was set to begin.
Anne Castagna, of Brooklawn, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter Jan. 4, 2015 (Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office).Anne Castagna, now 46, admitted in court that she had mixed antifreeze into a drink for her grandmother-in-law, Mary Groatman, in August 2012. Groatman was in the Deptford Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare at the time, recovering from injuries she had sustained in a fall. Before that, Groatman had lived with Castagna and her husband for about a decade.
http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/08/grandmother_poisoned_with_anti.html
On Aug. 19, 2012, investigators said, Castagna visited Groatman in the rehab center. Hours later, the senior citizen was found in a coma. The GCPO upgraded charges against Castagna when Groatman died after being taken off life support.
Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Brook will recommend 25 years in state prison for Castagna, with the condition that she would not be eligible for parole before serving 85 percent of her sentence.
Castagna has been jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail ever since she was arrested on Aug. 23, 2012.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 5.
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
