Police say Joseph Zambuto, 34, stabbed his 70-year-old father, also named Joseph Zambuto, on May 26.
WOODBURY -- A Monroe Township man accused of murdering his father in May will go to trial, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office has announced.
Joseph Zambuto has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of his 70-year-old father in Williamstown. (Salem County Correctional Facility)The incident occurred over Memorial Day Weekend. Police say Joseph Zambuto, 34, stabbed his 70-year-old father, also named Joseph Zambuto, on May 25. The two had allegedly got into an argument in the younger Zambuto's Meade Court home. Zambuto, a stock trader, lived with his fiancee just next door to his parents in a quiet cul-de-sac. The son owned both homes, and has a small child with his fiancee, according to investigators.
The criminal complaint against him said that he used a 13-inch "Rambo 3" knife, modeled on the action movie of the same name, to stab his father in the chest. Zambuto, a stock trader, was arrested that same afternoon and charged with first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. He was initially held on $1 million bail, but that sum was reduced to $750,000 shortly after.
The younger Zambuto had a broken foot at the time of his father's death, the GCPO said, and his attorney said in court that he had defense wounds from the altercation. The defense called the stabbing a case of "classic self-defense."
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
