ShopRite co-worker was stabbed 13 times in her torso, NJ cops say

CLARK — Violent details emerged about what authorities said was an attempted murder at a ShopRite on Sunday afternoon.

Melissa Prince, 57, a store employee who lives in Edison, was charged with first-degree attempted murder after police say she stabbed her co-worker, a long-time employee, at least 13 times in the torso using a 13-inch knife from the kitchen area behind the deli counter.

A ShopRite employee told RLS Metro Breaking News that as horrified customers watched, the woman used "the largest knife in the deli."

Surveillance video shows the victim standing at a sink when Prince walks in and stands close to the victim before they argue, according to the affidavit.

Prince then tackled her co-worker and pinned her to the floor, according to the probable-cause affidavit filed in the case.

Police who saw the video say Prince repeatedly plunged the knife into the victim for about 40 seconds before other employees responded and subdued Prince.

'I ain’t say nothing to you! I ain’t do nothing to you!'

Longtime disagreement

Witnesses told investigators there was a “verbal altercation” between Prince and the victim.

Prince got on top of her victim while screaming: “I ain’t say nothing to you! I ain’t do nothing to you!"

An officer found the victim covered in her own blood, according to the officer, and Prince had blood on her hands and arm.

Mayor Sal Bonaccorso told New Jersey 101.5 that a long-simmering dispute was behind the attack.

The Union County Prosecutor's Office did not have a lawyer on record for Prince.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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Filed Under: Clark, Crime, Edison, Middlesex County

Categories: New Jersey News