New Jersey man charged in stabbing elderly roommate to death

A New Jersey man has been charged in the stabbing death of his 74-year-old roommate, authorities said Friday.

Louis Gargiso, 38, was charged with murder and related offenses in connection with the stabbing death of Robert Sunris at the home they shared in Jackson Township.

The incident occurred early Friday morning, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release.

Police received a report of an unconscious man in a home on Maple St. just before 6 a.m. When officers arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Sunris, suffering from what appeared to be a stab wound.

A knife was also found near the body, Ocean County District Attorney Bradley Billhimer and Jackson Township Police Chief Matthew Kunz said in a joint statement.

An autopsy by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed that the victim’s cause of death was a stab wound. The cause of death was ruled a homicide.

Gargiso was arrested at the scene and taken to the Ocean County Jail, where he awaits a pretrial detention hearing.

No motive has been released for the stabbing.