Man indicted for beating of 91-year-old Ewing woman
TRENTON >> A city man has been indicted for trying to kill an elderly Ewing woman who died less than a month after the vicious home invasion, authorities said.
Joseph Blanche, 22, of Trenton, was indicted last week by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping, prosecutor Angelo Onofri said in a news release Tuesday.
Blanche, who is being held at the county jail on $400,000 bail, is also charged with counts of burglary, aggravated assault, criminal restraint, theft, and endangering an injured victim after the woman was found tied up inside the basement of her Ewing home on March 29, prosecutors said.
Neighbors were concerned for the woman’s safety after they noticed the garage door of her Manor Drive home was open.
Police found the woman, 91-year-old Doris Geisel, had been beaten and bound, allegedly by Blanche and another man who remains at large, prosecutors said.
The suspects ransacked the woman’s home, making off with cash and other valuables, before fleeing in Geisel’s car, which was found abandoned in Ewing the next day, prosecutors said. A family friend told The
Trentonian the invaders’ proceeds were $40 and some jewelry.
The attack left Geisel with a skull fracture, broken ribs and facial injuries, though prosecutors did not detail the injuries in a statement. She was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center.
Geisel died April 20 from a heart attack while recuperating at the St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, less than a month after the violent home invasion.
Detectives identified Blanche as being involved in the home invasion and signed complaints March 30 charging him.
Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds, who presented the case to the grand jury, did not seek murder charges because an autopsy determined Geisel’s death was not related to the injuries she suffered from the beatdown the month prior, her office said in a statement.
A second suspect remains unidentified and at large and the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information should call Ewing Det. Nicholas Muscente at 609882-7522, or the Ewing Police Tip Line at (609) 8827530.