Crime Nearby: Family Enters Guilty Pleas in 2010 Murder Case

A father and daughter team pleaded guilty today to a 2010 murder, while the matriarch copped to her role in trying to set up a hit on the victim’s mother.

Thomas Dorsett, 66, and Kathleen Dorsett, 38, of Ocean Township, appeared before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci, Jr. on Thursday and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the beating death of Stephen Moore, of Manchester, in Long Branch.

Thomas Dorsett admitted striking Moore, Kathleen Dorsett’s ex-husband, in the head with a cylinder-shaped metal object on Aug. 16, 2010. Moore’s body was discovered in the trunk of his mother’s burning car in Long Branch.

Thomas Dorsett also pleaded to one count of arson for hire for paying Anthony Morris, 31, of Long Branch, $3,000 to torch the car. Kathleen Dorsett admitted her guilt to one charge of conspiracy to desecrate human remains.

Lesley Dorsett, Kathleen’s mother and Thomas’ wife, admitted to conspiring with her daughter to hire a hit man to murder Moore’s mother.

The hit man turned out to be an undercover police officer Lesley Dorsett, 68, met with at a Target store. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder, while her daughter admitted to one count of attempted murder.

Lesley Dorsett admitted that she conspired to kill Evelyn Moore, because she and her daughter feared she would testify against Kathleen, causing her to have a longer prison term.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Kathleen Dorsett was sentenced to 58 years in jail with the possibility of parole after 51.

Thomas Dorsett got a 50-year sentence and must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole. Leslie Dorsett must serve 85 percent of a an eight-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.