TOMS RIVER – A daughter whose brother killed their parents urged a judge last Friday to temper justice with compassion, saying the couple spent their final hours seeking help for a son in crisis before they were fatally stabbed inside their Barnegat home.
Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan ultimately sentenced Michael Mulgrew, 37, to two concurrent 30-year prison terms for the November 2, 2023 murders of Eugene and Cheryl Mulgrew. The sentence carries a 30-year period of parole ineligibility.
Mulgrew pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of murder. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors were permitted to seek consecutive sentences totaling 60 years before parole eligibility, while the defense argued for concurrent terms.
The hearing, which lasted more than two hours, focused as much on mental illness and a family’s efforts to help a son battling psychosis as it did on the murders themselves.
They Died Trying To Get Him Help
Michelle Mulgrew’s remarks underscored the unusual nature of the sentencing hearing, where family members repeatedly advocated for compassion toward the man responsible for their loss.
“I stand before the court today as the daughter of Cheryl and Eugene Mulgrew, and as the executrix of their estates, as a survivor, a witness, and the sister of the defendant,” she said. “These are roles I never imagined I would hold simultaneously, and certainly not in the courtroom.”
Michelle described her father, a longtime public health official, and her mother, a healthcare professional, as people who spent their lives helping others. She said both were well known and respected in their community and remained devoted to their son despite years of struggles with mental illness.
She also spoke of the personal loss left behind by their deaths, describing the absence of the parents she once turned to for advice, support and guidance through life’s challenges.
Drawing on her experience as a pharmacist and as Michael’s sister, Michelle argued he was experiencing a psychiatric emergency at the time of the killings. She described psychosis as a medical crisis rather than simply a mental health condition and maintained that opportunities existed to intervene before the tragedy unfolded. The deaths of her parents, she said, were not inevitable but followed what she viewed as a series of missed opportunities and systemic failures.
Judge Ryan acknowledged the family’s concerns about the response to Michael Mulgrew’s mental health crisis but emphasized that the sentencing proceeding was not the venue for determining whether mistakes had been made by healthcare providers, emergency responders or other agencies.
“I have no control over that,” Ryan said, explaining that his responsibility was to impose an appropriate criminal sentence based on the law and the facts before the court.
Those allegations are central to a separate civil lawsuit Michelle filed against healthcare and mental health entities involved in the events leading up to her parents’ deaths. The lawsuit alleges emergency psychiatric intervention was sought but not properly provided before the killings occurred. The allegations remain disputed and have not been proven in court.
Relatives Urge Compassion
Although victim impact statements are typically limited to immediate family members, Ryan permitted two of Eugene and Cheryl Mulgrew’s cousins to address the court.
“For many years, they tried tirelessly to help Michael through his struggles with mental illness and substance abuse,” Joseph Puleo said, calling them devoted parents. “They sought treatment for him, supported him emotionally and never abandoned hope that he could stabilize and build a better life.”
Geraldine Tucciarone also urged the court to focus on Michael’s need for treatment.
“The only kind of justice for my cousins Eugene and Cherrie as parents would be to ensure Michael gets the help he needs to process this tragedy,” she said.
Attorneys Make Their Cases
When police responded to the Mulgrew family’s Lincoln Avenue home, they discovered Eugene and Cheryl Mulgrew dead from stab wounds. Michael Mulgrew was later located nearby and taken into custody without incident.
Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Mara Brater urged Ryan to impose consecutive sentences, arguing that the deaths of two victims warranted separate recognition under New Jersey law.
According to Brater, evidence showed Cheryl Mulgrew had been in contact with Psychiatric Emergency Screening Services (PESS), a state-funded crisis response system that evaluates individuals believed to be experiencing psychiatric emergencies.
Brater said PESS personnel advised Cheryl not to tell her son that an evaluation was being arranged because of concerns it could upset him.
“He indicated that he had heard his mother speak to the mobile psychological services evaluator that morning and knew they were coming to the house to give him an examination,” Brater said. “Yet this defendant flew into a rage based on the knowledge that PESS was coming to the house and stabbed his parents.”
As Brater made those remarks, Mulgrew, who stood shackled in the jury box, shook his head in disagreement.
The prosecutor argued that while mental illness was an important factor, the court could not overlook that two lives were lost and that each victim deserved separate consideration.
First Assistant Deputy Public Defender Michael Vito argued that the tragedy could not be understood without examining years of documented psychiatric illness, including drug-induced psychosis.
For nearly an hour, Vito walked the court through records detailing psychotic episodes, hospitalizations, recurring delusions and mental health crises dating back to 2018.
“The record before this court is not one of criminality,” Vito argued in support of asking for the sentences to run concurrently. “It’s of an intelligent, caring man that suffered not only from addiction but from severe mental illness.”
Mulgrew Addresses Court
When given an opportunity to speak, Mulgrew accepted responsibility for his actions while acknowledging his longstanding struggles with addiction and mental illness.
“I stand here before you today not to deny accountability,” Mulgrew said. “But as an individual who is now keenly aware of his extremely serious substance abuse problems and underlying mental health issues.”
He said he intended to continue addressing those issues regardless of the sentence imposed.
Judge Sentences
Before imposing sentence, Ryan reflected on what he described as a troubling number of cases involving violence between parents and children that have appeared before the Ocean County court system.
The judge noted that while each case presents different circumstances, many have involved mental illness, addiction and family members struggling to obtain help for loved ones in crisis.
Ryan ultimately concluded that concurrent sentences appropriately balanced the seriousness of the crimes with the circumstances presented to the court.
“Your Family Will Always Love You”
Michelle reserved her final words in the courtroom for her brother. “Mom and Dad loved you so much, besides trying to keep you safe and get you help,” she said. “You need to always remember that.”
She urged her brother to remember that even in the darkest days, their unconditional love would be stronger. “They believed your life was worth living.”
“They would want you to forgive yourself and make the best out of this terrible situation,” Michelle said. “Whatever the outcome, your family will always love you.”
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