Manchester man pleads guilty to attempted murder in 2023 stabbing

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TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A Manchester man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in connection with a January 2023 stabbing that left a female victim seriously injured, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced.

Harry Bray Jr., 37, entered the guilty plea on Tuesday before Judge Kenneth T. Palmer in Ocean County Superior Court. The incident occurred on Jan. 5, 2023, in Brick Township, where police discovered a woman with multiple stab wounds near her vehicle off Cherry Quay Road. She was taken to a local hospital, treated for her injuries, and later released.

The case began when an officer with the Brick Township Police Department noticed a vehicle with two flat tires in a parking lot at approximately 5:30 p.m. Upon investigation, the officer found the victim on the ground nearby. Authorities say Bray was quickly identified as the suspect through an investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Bray was arrested later that evening in Manchester Township by detectives from the prosecutor’s office and the Brick Township Police Department. He has been held at the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.

The state is seeking an 18-year prison term for Bray under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, which would require him to serve at least 85% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2025.