Mercer Man Stabs Child, Says FBI Told Him To Kill Family, Records Say

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A Hopewell man who was charged with attempted homicide told police that the FBI asked him to kill his family, according to the complaint warrant. The man was arrested after he attacked a juvenile family member.

Around 3:49 a.m. on Jan. 19, Hopewell Police responded to a home on Pleasant Valley Road after receiving a 911 call regarding a disturbance outside a neighbor’s house.

Shortly after, police received another 911 call from inside the house in question, authorities said. The caller told authorities that Matthew Bonacci, 47, was attempting to harm the family.

The woman told officers that she and her two minor children were locked in the master bathroom and that Bonacci was still outside the house, the complaint said. She also said her daughter had suffered injuries to her left wrist and neck causing excessive blood loss.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Bonacci outside the house, trying to hide within the wood line of the property. He was covered in blood, the complaint said.

As officers asked him to exit the wood line and put his hands up, Bonacci collapsed and was placed under arrest. According to the documents, officers found a laceration to both wrists and forearms as well as a laceration on his neck, which caused heavy blood loss.

While being handcuffed, Bonacci told police that the FBI asked him to kill his family and that there was a note in his pocket to give to the FBI and the news, according to the complaint. Bonacci also told police that someone was after him for his Cryptocurrency.

During this time, officers entered the house to tend to the girl. They found a large amount of blood throughout the house - going through the dining room, the living room, the kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and throughout the hallway.

The girl had a towel on her neck and wrist with direct pressure being applied to both areas as they awaited the arrival of EMS, according to the complaint. Eventually, the EMS arrived and took over. The girl suffered excessive blood loss and a laceration to the left side of the neck and the wrist.

Bonacci and the girl were taken to the hospital to have emergency surgeries. Doctors had to surgically repair the minor’s damaged ligaments and arteries within the wrist, the complaint said.

According to the documents, the woman told police she was woken by her daughter screaming at around 3:30 a.m. When she entered the bedroom where her daughter was sleeping, she found Bonacci standing over her daughter with a knife. The woman’s entrance into the room interrupted Bonacci in the act, the complaint said.

Bonacci was charged with criminal attempt (homicide), aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The Prosecutor’s Office said they have filed a motion to detain Bonacci pending trial.

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