Retiree community resident charged with fatally stabbing 1, hurting 2 in feud with neighbors

Resident charged in NJ retiree community stabbings

TRENTON, N.J. — Authorities say a resident of a southern New Jersey retirement community has been charged with fatally stabbing an 88-year-old woman and seriously injuring two others in a dispute with neighbors.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Theodore Housel says 65-year-old Anthony Milano is in custody and faces murder, aggravated assault and weapons charges.

Housel says Milano accosted 88-year-old Catherine McGowan and her daughter, 60-year-old Diane Nehmad, with a knife at the Village at Linwood about 10 miles south of Atlantic City.

He had been scheduled to appear in court Thursday after McGowan and other neighbors complained he was disturbing the peace.

Authorities say 84-year-old resident Eugene Pepper tried to intervene and was stabbed.

Housel says Milano has no lawyer yet.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A member of a southern New Jersey retirement community stabbed three neighbors Thursday, killing an 88-year-old woman, after two of the victims and other residents accused him of disturbing the peace, authorities said.

Anthony Milano, a 65-year-old resident of the Village at Linwood, is in custody and will probably face murder and aggravated assault charges, Atlantic County Prosecutor Theodore Housel said.

Milano, apparently armed with a folding knife that was later found at the scene, accosted Catherine McGowan, 88, and his next-door neighbor Diane Nehmad, 60, as they walked from their apartment in the community, about 10 miles south of Atlantic City.

Another resident, 84-year-old Eugene Pepper, saw what was happening, tried to intervene and was also stabbed, authorities said.

McGowan was pronounced dead at the scene, while Nehmad and Pepper were flown to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. Nehmad was listed in critical condition, and Pepper was considered stable.

Milano didn’t have a lawyer yet in the stabbings, Housel said. He had been scheduled to appear Thursday night in Linwood Municipal Court for a hearing on charges of disturbing the peace that were filed by McGowan and other residents who accused him of harassment.

Nehmad’s husband was among those expected to testify against Milano, residents said, but it was not immediately clear whether Pepper was involved in the case.

Gil Finkelstein, president of the community’s condo association, told The Press of Atlantic City that Milano had been “behaving erratically” recently. Milano had bought his home in June 2006.