Hightstown Teen Charged with First Degree Murder in Wildwood Stabbing.
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Chief Robert Regalbuto of the Wildwood Police Department have announced the arrest of DaJohn L. Taylor, an eighteen-year-old from Hightstown, NJ, on first-degree murder charges. The authorities have issued a statement giving details of the incident leading to Taylor’s arrest.
According to the authorities, on June 11, 2023, at approximately 2:23 a.m., the Wildwood Police Department received a 911 emergency telephone call reporting a disturbance in the area of Magnolia and Atlantic Avenue. Responding officers discovered Kaiden Braithwaite, a twenty-year-old from Cliffwood, NJ, dead from numerous stab wounds.
Detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Wildwood Police Department, responded to the scene and initiated a homicide investigation. The investigators found that a group of individuals walking by 307 East Magnolia Avenue had a verbal argument with a second group of individuals on the porch of the house. The altercation escalated to physical violence, and Taylor stabbed Braithwaite and two other people multiple times before fleeing the scene.
The investigators, with the assistance of the East Windsor and Hightstown Police Departments, continued the homicide investigation, and on the evening of June 11, 2023, first-degree murder charges were filed against Taylor.In addition, he was charged with Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose, a crime of the third degree, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, a crime of the fourth degree.
On the afternoon of June 12, 2023, DaJohn Taylor turned himself in to the Wildwood Police Department. Following this, additional charges of Attempted Homicide, a crime of the first degree, and two counts of Aggravated Assault, crimes of the second degree, were filed against him.
The authorities have warned that the investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed. Anyone with related information regarding this investigation can contact the Major Crimes Unit of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135 or the Wildwood Police Department at 609-522-0222. Information can also be sent anonymously to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips. The Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip line at cmcsheriff.net and Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597 can also be contacted.
Having been charged with first-degree murder, DaJohn Taylor is now facing a sentence of thirty years to life in New Jersey State Prison if convicted. Other first-degree crimes can carry a sentence between ten and twenty years, while second-degree crimes can carry a sentence of between five and ten years. The Prosecutor Sutherland has commended the cooperation and the intensive investigative efforts of all the law enforcement agencies who assisted with this homicide investigation.
The downloaded contents include a few images, as shown above, that could be of evidential value to the investigation. The authorities have not released any other details or information.
