WILDWOOD – Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Chief Robert Regalbuto of the Wildwood Police Department announce the arrest of DaJohn L. Taylor, 18, from Hightstown, for first-degree murder charges.
On June 11, 2023, at approximately 2:23 a.m., the Wildwood Police Department received an emergency 911 telephone call for a disturbance in the area of Magnolia and Atlantic avenues.
Shortly thereafter, officers from the Wildwood Police Department responded to the scene and discovered Kaiden Braithwaite, 20, from Cliffwood, deceased from numerous stab wounds.
On this same date, detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Wildwood Police Department responded to the scene and immediately initiated a homicide investigation.
The initial investigation revealed that one group of individuals was walking by 307 East Magnolia Avenue at approximately 2:15 a.m. and had a verbal argument with a second group of individuals standing on the porch of the above-mentioned residence.
The verbal dispute escalated to physical altercation at which time Taylor allegedly stabbed Braithwaite and two other individuals multiple times. Taylor then fled the scene, according to police.
Detectives from the Prosecutor’s Office and Wildwood Police Department, with the assistance of the East Windsor and Hightstown Police Departments, continued this homicide investigation.
On the evening of June 11, 2023, first-degree murder charges, along with possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, a crime of the third degree and unlawful possession of a weapon, a crime of the fourth degree, were filed against Taylor.
On the afternoon of June 12, 2023, Taylor turned himself into the Wildwood Police Department at which time additional charges of attempted homicide, a crime of the first degree, and two counts of aggravated assault, crimes of the second degree, were filed against Taylor.
Taylor was then processed and lodged in the Cape May County Correctional Facility pending court proceedings.
According to Sutherland, an individual convicted of the crime of first-degree murder can be sentenced to 30 years to life in New Jersey state prison.
Other first-degree crimes can carry a sentence between 10 and 20 years in state prison and second-degree crimes can carry a sentence of between five and 10 years.
Sutherland commends the cooperation and the intensive investigative efforts of all the law enforcement agencies who assisted with this homicide investigation.
“This is an ongoing investigation and additional charges may be filed,” Sutherland stated in a release.
Sutherland urges anyone with information regarding this investigation to contact the Major Crimes Unit of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135, the Wildwood Police Department at 609-522-0222, or anonymously on the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpo.tips.
Information can also be anonymously sent to the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597.
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