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Man charged in fatal stabbing at Rodeway Inn in Mount Laurel

Taylor Perkins, 29, is accused of killing Michael Jefferies, 36, at the motel on Route 73.

File photo.
File photo.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

A 29-year-old Burlington County man was charged with first-degree murder for a fatal stabbing Thursday morning at a Rodeway Inn in Mount Laurel, authorities said Friday.

Police responded just before 10 a.m. Thursday to a report of two men fighting at the motel on Route 73 and found the body of 36-year-old Michael Jefferies outside a second-floor room near the stairwell, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a news release.

Investigators allege that Taylor Perkins, of Riverton, stabbed Jefferies, then fled on foot to a BMW dealership, where he stole an SUV. Perkins drove the SUV to Evesham, abandoned the vehicle, then stole a truck belonging to an Xfinity worker who was up on a ladder.

Perkins was eventually arrested at a residence in Camden, Bradshaw said.

Burlington County Medical Examiner Ian Hood performed an autopsy on Jefferies and determined that he died from multiple stab wounds.

The motive remains under investigation.

Perkins was transported to the Burlington County Jail, where he was awaiting a court hearing.