Mays Landing, NJ: Somers Point woman strangled, not murdered, says lawyer for accused Atlantic City man

By LYNDA COHEN Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 |
MAYS LANDING — Tanisha Tull was trying to move forward with her life.
The pregnant 19-year-old Atlantic City High School graduate just moved into her own apartment in Somers Point. She had a car, and was attending Atlantic Cape Community College to pursue her goal of becoming a nurse.
But leaving behind her on-and-off boyfriend Najee Kelsey proved fatal, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chet Wiech said.
Kelsey, now 24, is on trial for killing Tull on May 20, 2008 — just four days after she broke up with him, Wiech said.
Both sides agree Kelsey strangled the woman — but not that he murdered her.
“There is no weapon used. There is no weapon brought,” defense attorney Robert Gamburg told the jury in his opening statement. “He goes to the residence without any other thought than to repair this relationship.”
But Wiech had a different scenario, one in which Kelsey, increasingly frustrated by Tull’s refusal to answer his calls, took a bus from the home he shared with his grandmother in Atlantic City to Tull’s new apartment in Somers Point.
Inside the Carriage House apartments, Tull refused to open the door for Kelsey, who kicked in the door at about 2 p.m., two neighbors testified. An argument ensued, then silence.
Tull was found dead more than three hours later, lying in her bed with a blanket up to her chest and bruises on her neck.
Kelsey now faces charges including murder and felony murder, because, the state alleges, he also intended to burglarize the woman. Felony murder is a death that occurs during the commission of another crime.
But the defense says the emotionally charged killing was unintentional, and therefore, manslaughter.
“It’s a case of passion and provocation,” Gamburg said. “It’s not a murder. It’s not a burglary. It’s not a felony murder.”
“It will not be passion provocation,” Wiech told the jury.
During a 5½-hour interview, “the defendant was given every opportunity to tell (investigators that),” he said. “Over and over again, they give him that opportunity.”
Instead, “a very frustrating and sometimes bizarre” interview included “five different versions” of what happened, Wiech said. The versions range from Kelsey claiming he found the woman unconscious and then fled, to admitting he strangled her, but that she passed out for only about five minutes, and then woke up asking for water and fast food.
“Listen carefully to the statement,” Gamburg told the jury.
He pointed out that the investigators talk throughout the interview about how “people get frustrated” and that Kelsey may still be in denial.
“We know what this was,” Gamburg quoted them as saying. “We know, and you are gonna tell us.”
What the jury will not hear is that Tull was pregnant. She was in the very early stages of pregnancy, and both sides agreed the possible prejudicial impact outweighs any evidentiary value, Wiech told Superior Court Judge James Isman. It is not clear who the fathered the baby. All witnesses who knew of the pregnancy have been instructed not to mention it in their testimony.
The state will continue presenting its case today.
Contact Lynda Cohen:
609-272-7257