South Jersey Woman Pleads Guilty To Case Of Death By Antifreeze
By David Madden
WOODBURY, N.J., (CBS) -- A Camden County woman has admitted to killing her husband's grandmother by poisoning her over three years ago.
Forty-six-year-old Anne Castagna of Brooklawn pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the August 2012 death of 88-year-old Mary Groatman, who had been living in a Deptford nursing home at the time.
Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton says the plea bargain was reached on the eve of Castagna's murder trial. "The evidence in this case revealed that Miss Castagna had given her a drink mixed with antifreeze which subsequently resulted in her death," Dalton told KYW Newsradio.
Groatman was found in a coma just hours after Castagna visited her at the home and died after she was removed from life support. Dalton says Groatman lived with Castagna and her husband for about a decade before going into the home and suggests financial issues played a role in the killing.
Had the case gone to trial, Castagna faced life in prison if convicted. The negotiated plea will result in a 25 year jail term. Formal sentencing is set for next month.