A Lakewood woman on Tuesday plead guilty to killing her mother she lived with in the Original leisure Village last year. Lisa Foster, 46, of Lakewood, entered a guilty plea to a charge of second degree manslaughter before the Honorable Wendel E. Daniels, Presiding Judge of the Criminal Part. Foster had been charged in connection with the death of her 67 year old mother, Claudette Foster, who was a resident of the Original Leisure Village in Lakewood.

“This investigation commenced on March 1, 2012, when the Lakewood Township Police Department received a call from a third party reporting that a woman might be dead in the Foster home”, Ocean County Prosecutors say. “Police later confirmed that the anonymous source was in fact the defendant, Lisa Foster. Lakewood Police responded to the home and found Claudette Foster’s body, as first reported on TLS at the time. Investigators determined that Mrs. Foster had been dead inside the home for a substantial period of time, perhaps as long as a month. The defendant and the victim lived together at the residence, which was owned by Mrs. Foster. While police were investigating the scene, Lisa Foster arrived; she was questioned and later taken into police custody.”

“Our investigation found that the mother and daughter had a contentious relationship, and often argued over finances. At some time during February of 2012, an argument between them in the bedroom of the victim escalated into a physical confrontation in which the defendant pushed the victim, causing her to fall and to strike her head on a metal bed frame. Mrs. Foster lost consciousness and later died, although the exact date and time of death cannot be accurately determined.”

Prosecutors say, “In admitting guilt for causing the injuries resulting in the death of her mother, the defendant admitted she knew her mother was in poor physical health; that she was responsible for the injuries she inflicted upon her mother, and that she did nothing to render any aid to her mother once she lost consciousness. The defendant further admitted that she knew her mother had died, but allowed her to remain in the same position from the time of the altercation until the police discovered Mrs. Foster’s body on March 1.”

An autopsy performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office found that the cause of death was arteriosclerotic coronary vascular disease and blunt force trauma.

In entering her plea of guilty to second degree Manslaughter, Lisa Foster faces a potential term of incarceration of up to ten (10) years. The actual term imposed in this case will be determined by Judge Wendel E. Daniels when he imposes sentence on February 28.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bridget Coughlin. Detective Brian Haggerty of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Detective Steven Wexler of the Lakewood Police Department and Detective Sergeant Scott Frey of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminalistics Investigations Unit were the lead investigators. TLS.