Prosecutors Move to Try Pasquale Suspects as Adults

Prosecutors want to try as adults two teenage brothers charged in the murder of Clayton resident Autumn Pasquale. 

The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office will move to waive the suspects, aged 15 and 17, to adult court, where they would face more serious punishment if convicted. The motion is set to be filed in the Family Division of state Superior Court in Woodbury on Friday.

Pasquale, 12, was last seen alive leaving her West High Street home at midday on Oct. 20 to go for a bike ride. Investigators believe the suspects lured her into their home with the promise of parts for her bicycle, then strangled her, and dumped her body in a nearby recycling bin.

Prosecutors have not released a motive for the slaying, nor have they identified the brothers because they were initially charged as minors. They are being held separately at the Camden County Juvenile Detention Center at Lakeland in Gloucester Township. 

Once the prosecutor's application is filed, it will be heard by Superior Court Judge Colleen A. Maier. 

“It is the State’s position, based upon the gravity of the juveniles actions in causing the death of Autumn Pasquale, that these cases should be heard in adult court,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton.

In addition to murder, the brothers also are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, illegally disposing of a body, tampering with evidence, and theft. One also is charged with luring. 

If they're convicted as adults of Pasquale's murder, the suspects face a minimum sentence of 30 years in state prison without parole.