New Details Released In Middletown Man Accused Of Killing His Father

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Last Thursday, June 6, the Monmouth County Prosecutor announced that a 36-year-old Middletown man, Kyle Kiernan, was charged with causing the death of his father, Lawrence Kiernan, 62.

Now on Monday, the county prosecutor released more details to Patch as to what exactly police say happened last week:

At 6:35 p.m. June 1, a Saturday, Middletown Police were called to a home on Pine Street for a report of a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, officers spoke with victim (the elder Kiernan), his wife and their son, Kyle, all of whom live in the home.

When officers got there, they found the father lying on the floor of the kitchen with blood on his face and right arm. EMS was called.

The officers were advised that the son had been making comments towards (redacted) all day, "calling her profanities and saying that she did things to him when he was younger, which the victim (the father) and (redacted) described as untrue," read the police report.

The father said he told his son he wanted him to leave the house, and the two argued in the kitchen. The father told the son "multiple times that he needed to leave the house, and attempted to guide the defendant (Kyle) towards the door," read the report. "According to the victim, it was at that point that the defendant punched his father in the face, and the two spun to the ground where defendant began punching down into his father’s face."

Police said they observed a laceration to the older man's left cheek bone, the left side of his nose, a three-quarter inch laceration to his mouth, and a laceration to his right arm. When EMS responded, they cleaned the wounds and performed cognitive tests, but ultimately the father refused further medical assistance or transport to the hospital.

The son had bruising and cuts on the back of both his hands, which was documented in photographs by the officers.

Nine hours later, at 3 a.m. police were called back to the home. The caller reported that her husband was breathing strangely and not waking up. She told the 911 operator about the physical altercation that had occurred earlier.

While en route to the call, Middletown Police were told that Kiernan was now sitting up and possibly vomited. When officers got there, they found him sitting in a recliner, had vomit on his shirt and was unresponsive to the sound of the officers’ voices and prompts.

The officers observed agonal breathing, and the victim’s pulse was extremely faint.

Middletown Police and EMS attempted CPR on the victim, and he was ultimately transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:57 a.m. the next day.

An autopsy was done and on June 4, police were told that Kiernan's cause of death was complications of a left subdural hemorrhage, and the manner of death was determined to be homicide.

His son is charged with second-degree reckless manslaughter, and remains held at the county jail.

Anyone with more information is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Matthew Delgado at 800-533-7443 or Middletown Police Detective Daniel Sullivan at 732-615-2100.

Initial Patch report: Middletown Man Charged In Father’s Death (June 6)