N.J. man pleads guilty in killings

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - A paranoid schizophrenic man accused of murdering his mother and young niece, and severely beating the girl's sister, last summer in Galloway Township pleaded guilty yesterday in Superior Court.

Ronald Weed, 42, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6 on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the Aug. 5, 2008, attacks, which occurred in the home he shared with his mother, Loretta Weed, 65, on South Nectar Avenue. His 12-year-old twin nieces, Kimberly and Courtney McCarten, of Huntsville, Ala., had been visiting their grandmother.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Theodore Housel said Weed used an ax, a knife, and a ceramic statue of a cigar-store Indian to bludgeon his family members. During his plea hearing yesterday, Weed admitted that he hit them all in the forehead with the statue.

During the attack, one twin managed to call 911 and summon police to the small, one-story home, where authorities said they found a horrific scene.

Loretta Weed, a retired NJ Transit worker who volunteered at animal shelters and was known for taking in strays, died of her head injuries five hours later at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.

Kimberly McCarten underwent emergency surgery at the hospital and died within two days. Courtney McCarten suffered extensive head trauma and is recovering in Alabama, Housel said.

Weed, who was covered in blood when he was arrested at the scene, was indicted by an Atlantic County grand jury in November.

In various court appearances, he maintained his innocence.

Since the attacks, the twins' mother, Loretta Largo, who is Weed's sister, helped lobby New Jersey legislators to pass a measure that would mandate mental-health treatment and require the administration of medication for diagnosed patients who pose a danger to themselves or others. The bill was signed into law Aug. 11.

"The three people in the world that my brother loved the most were my twins and my mother. For him to go this far, it's just a shock to us all," Largo told a Madison County, Ala., television station in July.

Under the law, families may seek a court order to force a mentally ill loved one into treatment. The regulation provides "a tremendous relief to the families, especially those who live with the fear that the family member or loved one will stop taking their meds because they feel good," Sen. Jim Whelan (D., Atlantic), a bill sponsor, said this summer.

Weed, who worked as a brick mason, underwent at least one stint in a state mental-health facility, where he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2001. He was not under a doctor's care and was not taking medication in the months leading to the tragedy, family members said.

According to published reports, Largo had hoped that Weed would be placed in a criminal psychiatric facility for the rest of his life and was angered by the plea agreement.

Under the agreement, Weed will serve three concurrent prison terms - 30 years each for the murders and 10 years for the attempted murder - with no chance for parole.

"This case represents a tragedy on so many levels," Housel said yesterday. "The public will be well served by removing the defendant from society."