Son finds his mom stabbed to death in their Edison home; suspect charged with murder
Prosecutors say Lizbeth Benitez-Rivera, of Edison, was found with multiple stab wounds.
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A 37-year-old mother was stabbed to death in her own home, and her teenage son was the one who found her body.
According to Middlesex County prosecutors, Edison police received a 911 call Sunday at 4:37 p.m. reporting a stabbing on Horizon Drive. They say Lizbeth Benitez-Rivera, of Edison, was found with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Prosecutors say Benitez-Rivera's 16-year-old son was asleep in his room. When he woke up later in the afternoon, he went into his mom's room and found her dead with multiple stab wounds.
The suspect was later identified as Joan Franklin Polanco, 37, of Edison. The NYPD arrested Polanco hours after the incident, prosecutors say.
Officials say Benitez-Rivera and Polanco knew each other, but their relationship is not yet known.
Polanco is facing first-degree murder charges and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Prosecutors say the investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Hetzell of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7400 or Detective Morillo of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at 732-745-8843.
