At 14, he stabbed his 12-year-old neighbor 95 times. NJ judge upholds life sentence

⚠️ A judge upheld a life sentence of a man convicted of killing a 12-year-old neighbor in 1988.

➡️ Prosecutors said Kenneth Houseknecht stabbed Kim Anderson 95 times in her Deptford home.

🔴 Houseknecht, who was 14 at the time, sought resentencing under NJ juvenile law.

A 53-year-old New Jersey man will continue to serve a life sentence for the horrific murder of a 12-year-old girl that he committed as a teenager in Deptford.

A Superior Court judge recently affirmed the punishment, which the court was required to do because Kenneth Houseknecht was a juvenile when he was sentenced to life.

In 1988, Houseknecht was a hulking 6-foot, 200-pound 14-year-old when he broke into his neighbors’ house one April morning before school.

He was armed with a knife, which he had shoplifted the day before, to ward off the family’s dog, Houseknecht told police.

Gloucester County investigators said Houseknecht broke into the Andersons' home to steal $50 (about $140 in today's dollars) to pay back an older teen for getting him pornographic magazines.

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Prosecutors say Deptford teen killed young neighbor during burglary

The only person home after 7 a.m. was Kim Anderson, getting ready to head to class as a 7th grader.

Her parents had gone to work at the family’s catering business and her older brother had already left for school.

Kim screamed, so Houseknecht said he hit her with a telephone and then used his stolen weapon.

He stabbed the young girl 95 times — 76 times while she was alive, according to investigators.

The victim was found, dead, in pools of her own blood by two neighborhood friends around the same age, according to a trial report by The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1991.

The girls came inside to look for Anderson around 8 a.m., when she hadn’t shown up for breakfast or answered her family’s front door.

During their investigation, police found a note inside Houseknecht's own bedroom, NJ.com reported.

"This is your daughter's killer. I hope you know I used gloves. The next one to get it is Mrs. Anderson," the note read, alongside hand-drawn, sexually explicit pictures, the same report said.

Houseknecht was tried as an adult by a jury in Salem County.

In July 1991, Houseknecht was convicted of first-degree counts of murder, felony murder and robbery, second-degree burglary, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

He was sentenced to life in prison, with 30 years of parole ineligibility.

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Judge rejects resentencing request decades after killing

By 2013, Houseknecht had sought and failed to get a new trial four different times, claiming ineffective counsel and cruel punishment for being sent away at such a young age.

When he was finally eligible for parole, Houseknecht was not cooperating with the process, NJ.com reported.

Under state law, juveniles serving lengthy sentences can apply for resentencing after 20 years in prison. The court considered testimony from forensic psychological experts, as well as statements from Houseknecht, his family, and the victim’s family.

After considering all evidence and arguments, Superior Court Judge Kevin T. Smith affirmed the life sentence.

“This case involved an extraordinarily violent and senseless crime that devastated a family and community,” Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Johns said on Thursday.

Houseknecht is still eligible for parole under his current sentence. He was already eligible, but had yet to petition for it, according to the prosecutor's office.

“We appreciate the court’s careful consideration of all the evidence and testimony presented during the resentencing proceedings and its decision to affirm that the original sentence remains appropriate,” Johns added.

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