New Jersey father agrees to plea deal after fatally stabbing white man who repeatedly called his children the N-word; judge says he should have called the police

The man’s racist slurs and aggressive behavior culminated in a single fatal blow, which many consider was self-defense. However, Anthony Collins pleaded guilty to manslaughter in June and can now spend three years behind bars in a New Jersey state prison. He must serve nearly 31 months of his sentence before he is eligible for parole under the No Early Release Act.

The deadly clash occurred on the afternoon of September 18, 2023, in Seaside Heights, a small 16-by-4-block beach community on the Jersey Shore.

Collins, 41, and his wife were leaving Babe’s Corner Store on Sumner Avenue when Robert May, 70, rode up to them on a bicycle. May, who also went by the nickname “Frog,” had repeatedly harassed Collins and his children, calling them racial slurs for months, defense attorney Terrence Turnback said.

That afternoon, May plowed straight into Collin’s wife as they left the store, attacking her with his bicycle, Collins testified before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan during his testimony.

May then turned to Collins and called him a nigger, which resulted in him receiving a single punch to the face that immediately knocked him to the ground. May’s fall and the punch knocked him unconscious, and paramedics later found him lying on the cement, with blood leaking from his mouth and head.

When May finally regained consciousness, he was treated at the scene but refused further medical attention and returned home, according to press release issued by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Police then received a tip that he was “acting erratically” after the fall, and he was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries on October 1. An autopsy determined the reason behind death was blunt force trauma and the reason behind death was homicide.

Witnesses identified Collins to police, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on October 4. Collins’ name was added to the massive National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, which incorporates greater than 90,000 law enforcement and criminal justice agencies nationwide.

The United States Marshals Service has also been brought into the investigation, a neighborhood news agency reported. Asbury Park Publishing reported. Within lower than two weeks, Collins turned himself in and was held in county jail until a plea deal was reached in June 2024.

During Collins detention hearing In October, Turnbach argued that the aggressive racism he faced justified self-defense. “(He) was dealing with an individual who he knew well enough to have called his children ‘nigger’ more than eleven to twelve times,” he said, adding, “Their alleged victim sought out my client, attacked his wife and called him a reprehensible name.”

Judge Ryan accepted there had been racism but noted the age difference between the men and said the appropriate motion would have been to report the incident to police.

In a June 11 statement, U.S. Attorney Bradley D. Billhimer said the guilty plea agreement was a “recommended sentence that is less than the normal sentence for a murder of passion.”

The victim’s family recognizes and understands these issues and supports this resolution. I commend them for his or her compassionate and understanding nature.”

Collins, who has already spent eight months in county jail, is clearly eager to get this case over with as soon as possible so he can get back to his normal life. At the time of his plea, Turbnack said in an announcement, “Mr. Collins accepted responsibility for his conduct on September 18, 2023. He is eager to end his incarceration and return to his children, fiancée and work.”