Malika Jones was sentenced after being convicted of aggravated manslaughter, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel and Rahway Police Director Nicholas Breiner said.
On Feb. 16, 2020 the Rahway Police Department responded to 100 East Albert Street and found Inell Jones, 58, fatally stabbed at the scene, authorities said. Malika was immediately taken into custody, authorities said.
Jones was a former Barnard student who had expressed interest in dentistry, according to the student newspaper Bwog and the New York Times.
Citing an affidavit, the New York Times said the stabbing had started as an argument between the mother and daughter over the younger Jones’ living situation and return to school.
A subsequent argument erupted later in the day, in the family’s kitchen, the outlet said citing police papers. A man in the home told police he heard Inell Jones yelling that Malika had cut herself and needed medical attention, The Times reports.
Then, he heard dishes breaking before Malika ran toward him screaming her mother had tried to hurt her, the new outlet says. The elder Jones had been stabbed.