Antoinette Pelzer

Case record: Antoinette Pelzer

Background

Antoinette Pelzer was homeless and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her family said she had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at age 24. Her family described her long struggle with homelessness and that she was not violent when on her medication.

Gladys Pelzer, Antoinette Pelzer’s mother, told the judge that “The system of mental illness failed her.” Gladys Pelzer also said she and the defendant’s two grown daughters and a grandson drove to Atlantic County from Philadelphia to show support.

Family members described Pelzer as being “funny,” laughing at anything, and “a stickler for cleanliness” when she was on her medication. Ellen Slaughter, 22, said: “When she doesn't have her medication, she is a different person.”

Ellen Slaughter said: “she's hearing things, it's just crazy.” Pelzer’s aunt Nadine King said Pelzer had been homeless since the beginning of the year and had been seen “begging for money.”

Pelzer’s family said she had little education and could barely read and write. They said she had worked at a Wendy’s while in middle school, which was the only job she had held. They said she could never hold onto her disability checks.

Pelzer attended West Philadelphia High School but did not finish. Her mother said Pelzer was enrolled in Job Corps, a training program that helps young people develop a career and earn a high school diploma or GED. Gladys Pelzer said that at 17, Pelzer became pregnant.

Pelzer had three adult children. Her children were described as a son, Angelo Slaughter, now 24, and then Ellen, who was identified as 22 at the time of reporting. The three share the same father. Pelzer was also described as having long struggled with homelessness, having lived in shelters in Philadelphia and Cleveland, and having slept in the Gallery and on the streets. At one point, her family said she lived in a Northeast apartment with the help of one program.

Family members offered differing accounts about whether Pelzer regularly received disability money sent by her mother. Gladys Pelzer said she gave her daughter a weekly allowance but they argued when she did not give her all the money at once. Gladys Pelzer said: “She was homeless on her own accord.” She added: “It wasn't like nobody didn't care about her.”

Justine Slaughter said Pelzer’s schizophrenia started to emerge around Memorial Day in 1991, and Gladys Pelzer said: “Look over in the yard, the . . . Mafia is holding my mother hostage.”

Ellen Slaughter described Pelzer as sometimes leaving and not returning for stretches of time, saying: “Wherever her mind tells her to go, she gets up and goes.” Nadine King, Gladys Pelzer’s sister, said Pelzer had “just get up and go,” as well. The family said Pelzer made it to California, Las Vegas, and Florida, taking her young son with her. Gladys Pelzer described one occasion when Pelzer had been wired $80 to take a bus ride back from Cleveland and then left, saying: “When I woke up the next morning and I went to her room, she was gone, clothes and all.”

In 2008, Pelzer left the apartment where she lived with Justine and Justine’s family and babysat her four grandchildren. Around October, according to King, Pelzer left a Cleveland shelter to return to Philadelphia when her mother told her to live with her at Opportunity Towers, a senior-housing complex, but Pelzer was not allowed to stay there. Pelzer then stayed at a shelter in North Philadelphia until New Year’s Eve, King said. She likely went to Atlantic City after that, the family said.

Pelzer’s aunt Nadine King said the family blamed the attack on Pelzer’s mental illness, and that King had seen her niece out “begging for money.”

The offence

On May 21, 2012, Antoinette Pelzer stabbed Po Lin Wan and her daughter Alice Mei See Leung as they walked along Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City about 10 a.m. Surveillance video showed Pelzer rushing up to them with a 13-inch butcher knife and beginning to stab.

Leung was attacked first as Wan tried to intervene. Pelzer then continued the attack and stabbed Wan when Wan came to Leung’s aid. Authorities said Pelzer attempted to rob one of the women by taking a purse; the psychiatrist report quoted in court said Pelzer “cannot recall exactly what led her to kill the women.” Pelzer insisted it was not a robbery though she was seen grabbing the purse of one woman.

Officer Jacob Abbruscato arrived in his patrol car, jumped out, and rushed to stop the attack. The attack lasted about 13 seconds, according to surveillance and reporting. Abbruscato disarmed Pelzer and took her into custody within 13 seconds.

The victims were taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. Both women died of multiple sharp-force injuries.

Autopsy findings were reported as follows:

• Leung was struck in stab wounds to her upper body and her heart was punctured.
• Wan was stabbed in the lower body, hand and shoulder.

A criminal complaint was read in court, stating that Pelzer stabbed the 80-year-old woman and attempted to steal her pocketbook. The complaint said: “When the victim would not relinquish, the suspect stabbed her additional times.”

Pelzer apologized for the killings; the judge said it was the first sign of remorse shown.

In court, Pelzer told Judge Mark Sandson: “I was real sick back then at the time,” and Sandson said Antoinette Pelzer had apologized.

Pelzer’s mother told the judge: “The system of mental illness failed her.” Pelzer’s family said Pelzer tried to rob the tourists for cigarette money. Gladys Pelzer told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia: “I feel sorry about the people she hurt all because she wanted a cigarette. That's what this was all about.”

Investigation

Surveillance cameras captured the scene from two angles. Surveillance at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center captured the attack as it happened. Video footage showed Pelzer as she approached the women and began stabbing. In court, public defender Holly Bitters objected to the playing of the tape, but Judge Mark Sandson allowed it.

A psychiatrist report was quoted in court and said the woman could not recall exactly what led her to kill the women. Levy said two psychological tests showed Pelzer knew right from wrong at the time of the killings. Levy also referenced the psychiatrist report in arguing that Pelzer knew what she was doing was wrong at the time.

Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy said: “she knew right from wrong,” and also said: “Her family didn’t fail her.” Levy further said: “Her family didn’t fail her,” Pelzer’s mother’s statement followed, and Levy said: “hundreds of thousands of people suffer mental illness without acting in such a horrific way.”

At an earlier court appearance, public defender Eric Shenkus predicted his office would represent Pelzer after receiving an application. The judge read parts of a criminal complaint charging murder and robbery.

Arrest

Officer Jacob Abbruscato subdu ed Antoinette Pelzer at gunpoint and disarmed her after he stumbled upon the scene. Reporting said he was credited with disarming Pelzer within 13 seconds and taking her into custody. Pelzer was then taken into custody and the victims were taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.

Trial / Proceedings

Arraignment and plea

On January 11, 2013, Antoinette Pelzer pleaded not guilty when she was arraigned in Superior Court before Judge Mark H. Sandson. Her lawyer, Holly Bitters, waived a reading of the double-homicide charges before entering the not-guilty plea.

Pelzer appeared handcuffed and shackled at the waist and ankles, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, her hair neatly braided in cornrows, and she did not utter a word during the proceeding.

Pelzer acknowledged the presence of family, including her mother, two daughters, and a grandson, when she entered and left the courtroom. Reporting noted this differed from her first court appearance two days after the May 21 killings, when she made strange faces, laughed, and expressed surprise when the charges read in court indicated that two women, not one, had died.

In January 2013, Friday was scheduled to be a normal status hearing but instead Pelzer pleaded guilty.

Charges and indictment

Pelzer was indicted on Nov. 27 on eight counts, including two each of first-degree and felony murder. She faced charges of two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and robbery.

In another court report, Pelzer was described as facing charges of two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and robbery, and a separate account stated charges included assault and weapons charges in addition to murder.

The locations alleged included Pacific Avenue near Bally’s Atlantic City Casino Hotel. The surveillance video showed Pelzer running across the street outside the casino.

Public defender and insanity issue

Pelzer’s defense had been awaiting psychological reports with the understanding that an insanity defense might be offered. Public defender Holly Bitters said: “We're definitely going to explore that option.”

At the time, to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, it had to be proved that at the time of the crime the defendant did not know what she was doing was wrong. In court, two psychological tests were said to show Pelzer knew right from wrong.

At Pelzer’s first court appearance, she exhibited strange behavior and seemed surprised when the judge said both women died, asking: “Both?”

During a court hearing, Pelzer asked where her public defender was and laughed when asked whether she had applied for a public defender, saying: “I done trying to find out where my public defender’s at,” and also: “Whatever you call it, whatever. I don't know.”

Guilty plea

On August 30, 2013, Antoinette Pelzer, 45, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder. Reporting said she admitted to attacking Alice Mei See Leung, 47, and Po Lin Wan, 80, with a butcher knife as the two women walked along Pacific Avenue about 10 a.m. May 21, 2012.

The plea agreement allowed Superior Court Judge Mark Sandson to give her two consecutive life terms when she was sentenced Oct. 24.

Pelzer’s defense had been awaiting psychological reports in case an insanity defense was offered. At that time, public defender Holly Bitters had said: “We're definitely going to explore that option.”

Sentencing

On October 24, 2013, Pelzer was sentenced to two consecutive 40-year terms.

Pelzer was expected to plead insanity, but two psychological tests showed she knew right from wrong, and reporting said she would have to serve 68 years in prison before she was eligible for parole, meaning she would have to live to be 104 years old.

Outcome / Aftermath

The victims were Po Lin Wan and her daughter Alice Mei See Leung. Reporting said they were visiting from Scarborough, Ontario, and were from Hong Kong, where their family still lives.

Victor Au said of Wan: “My grandmother was the most loving person I ever knew.” He added: “She was a big part of raising me. I wish I’d had the chance to thank her for everything.”

Au said of Leung that her optimism was so contagious that “even on a bad day, you couldn’t help but feel happy.”

Leung was described as an accounting manager in a Canadian iron-mines company and played the yangqin, a hammered dulcimer, with the Toronto Chinese Orchestra.

Other details

Pelzer’s bail was set at $1.5 million. At the January 11, 2013 arraignment, Pelzer was being held at the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton.

A report on May 23, 2012 noted Pelzer repeatedly asked where her lawyer was during a court appearance and made facial expressions while being charged. The same report cited the criminal complaint and described Pelzer stabbed the 80-year-old woman and tried to steal her pocketbook, with the judge reading: “When the victim would not relinquish, the suspect stabbed her additional times.”

Reporting described other related Atlantic City tourist attacks for context, including:

• Martin Caballero was kidnapped from the Trump Taj Mahal parking garage and murdered; Craig Arno was convicted and Jessica Kisby pleaded guilty.
• Sunil Rattu, 28, and a 24-year-old woman he was with were carjacked in the Taj Mahal parking garage and Rattu was shot dead; three men were awaiting trial.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel said in response to a Canadian broadcaster question after the hearing: “It could have happened in Philadelphia. It could have happened in Las Vegas,” and “Don’t think this is something negatively special about Atlantic City that doesn’t exist anywhere else.” Another quote attributed to Housel added: “There's actually crime in Canada too, I hear.”