South Plainfield Man Convicted of 2019 Prison Cellmate Murder

BRIDGETON, N.J. — Anthony Cole, 39, of South Plainfield, was found guilty Thursday of murdering his cellmate at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton in 2019, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said. The conviction came after a bench trial, where a judge alone reviewed the evidence and rendered a verdict. Cole faces a prison sentence ranging from 30 years to life, with a mandatory minimum of 30 years or 85% of the sentence served, whichever is longer. Sentencing is scheduled for August 18.
The victim, 25-year-old Keyon Wade of North Brunswick, was discovered unresponsive with severe head and neck trauma on December 4, 2019, around 3 p.m. in the prison’s housing unit. Wade died at the scene. The medical examiner classified the death as a homicide, noting multiple skull fractures and a broken spine. Investigators concluded that Cole was the only person with access to Wade when the fatal injuries occurred. The charges stemmed from a combined investigation by the state Department of Corrections’ Special Investigations Division and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit.