NJ man gets 5-year sentence for stabbing roomate

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - September 17, 2011 (WPVI) -- A man who fatally stabbed his roommate during a scuffle at a Southern New Jersey rest home two years ago has been sentenced to five years in state prison.

Fifty-seven-year-old George M. Russ must serve 85 percent of the term imposed Friday before becoming eligible for parole. And once he's freed, he must continue mental-health treatment and will be monitored for alcohol and drug use.

Russ had pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter charges in connection with the October 2009 death of Keith McMahon at the Lexington Rest Home in Lakewood. The 57-year-old victim sustained a chest wound and died a month later at a local hospital.

Russ had claimed the stabbing was accidental, saying he only intended to use the knife to ward off McMahon during the fight.

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new jersey, ocean county, stabbing, crime

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