Bristol Township man gets life term for killing his cousin
David Jenner had testified that the fatal stabbing was in self-defense. But prosecutors called his version of events a "fantastical tale" that was debunked by evidence from the scene.
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A Bristol Township man who was convicted of murdering his cousin inside the home they shared was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.
David Jenner, 40, stabbed Charlie Thomas Jr., 43, multiple times with an eight-inch kitchen knife during a December 2021 argument at their Veterans Highway residence, prosecutors said. When police arrived, Jenner was pacing outside the house and admitted to the stabbing, directing the officers inside.
Police found Thomas stabbed eight times; he was bleeding internally from a wound to his left lung, according to testimony during Jenner’s nonjury trial in August. Thomas was taken to Lower Bucks Hospital and later pronounced dead.
Jenner was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated assault for injuring Thomas’ mother, who had attempted to break up the fight between the two men. Jenner was sentenced to an additional 10 to 20 years for that assault.
» READ MORE: A Bucks County man stabbed his cousin to death during an argument, police say
During his trial, Jenner took the stand to assert that the stabbing was in self-defense — multiple people attacked him, he said
But Deputy District Attorney Marc Furber said Wednesday that Jenner’s version was “a fantastical tale,” and ultimately helped sway Bucks County Court Judge Jeffrey Finley’s decision to find him guilty.
“Everything about that was completely belied by all of the physical evidence, and his own story was internally inconsistent, as well,” Furber said. “It really was a disservice to the memory of the victim here, and the surviving victim, the mother of Charlie Thomas, that he would even say such things.”
Jenner’s lawyer, Craig Penglase, declined to comment after the hearing Wednesday.
After Finley handed down the verdict, Jenner said the decision was “a [expletive] joke.”
Furber said that Thomas’ family was satisfied by the resolution of the case, knowing that Jenner will no longer be able to harm anyone again, but that even that sense of justice could not mend the grief they feel over losing Thomas.
“There’s no joy in this for them, no happiness, no pleasure,” Furber said. “Charlie was the glue that held everyone together in that family, and that has fallen apart since his life was taken. That struggle, I think, unfortunately, for his mother, will never go away, and I think that’s the saddest part.”