New details emerge after Raritan Township woman charged with murder

The Raritan Township woman charged with killing her housemate early Wednesday morning admitted to police she stabbed him, court papers say.

Domonique Preston, 45, has been charged with murdering Steve Spivey, 66, at their home on Manchester Road behind the Dutch Country Farm Market.

Police responded to the home at about 1:40 a.m. Wednesday after Preston called 911 to report that a man, later identified as Spivey, had stabbed himself, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

When officers arrived, they saw Preston on top of Spivey who was lying on his back on a bed, according to the affidavit.

He had a visible wound to his chest and a large laceration to the left side of his head, the affidavit says.

Preston was taken from the scene and questioned based on her report that Spivey had stabbed himself.

During the questioning, the affidavit says, Preston told police “that she wanted to be honest" and that she had stabbed Spivey, according to the affidavit.

She repeated this "multiple times" even after being given her Miranda warning about self-incrimination, the affidavit says, even repeating it "in processing without being processed."

In the affidavit, Raritan Township Police Officer Eli Walters, the investigating detective who filed the complaint, said he reviewed the case with the officers who were on the scene and reviewed their bodycam footage.

Walters also said in the affidavit that he heard Preston say, "I only stabbed him once" while she was being processed.

Preston is being held at the Warren County Correctional Center in Belvidere.

Preston, through her attorney, Public Defender Mark Imbriani, pleaded not guilty in her first court appearance early Wednesday afternoon.

The Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office has filed a motion to have her detained in jail pending trial.

The detention hearing on that motion is scheduled for Monday before Superior Court Judge Christopher Garrenger.

Preston was also charged with third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

First-degree murder charges carry a minimum 30-year prison sentence.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Raritan Township NJ murder details emerge in court documents