South Woods State Prison Inmate Sentenced For 2019 Beating Death

Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 8:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

BRIDGETON, NJ.- A 40-year-old former Trenton, New Jersey, man, currently serving a New Jersey State Prison sentence, learned that he will die in state prison after being sentenced on Monday to life for the 2019 beating death of his cellmate Keyon Wade, 25, that occurred at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey.

     According to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, on Monday, August 18, 2025, Anthony Cole, 40, formerly of Trenton, New Jersey, appeared in Cumberland County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Nikki Arbittier to life in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, which will require Cole to serve 85% of his custodial term before becoming eligible for parole.

Judge Orders Sentence To Run Consecutive To His Current Term

     Under New Jersey sentencing guidelines, a life sentence is calculated as a term of 75 years. Under the No Early Release Act, Cole would be required to serve 63 years and 9 months before becoming eligible for parole. In addition, Judge Arbittier ordered the sentence to run consecutive to his current prison term, which will expire in January 2028.

     On June 12, 2025, following a bench trial before Judge Arbittier in Cumberland County Superior Court, Judge Arbittier convicted Cole of the December 4, 2019, murder of Mr. Wade.

According Court Documents

     According to court documents, on December 4, 2019, Investigators of the New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division responded to a report of a homicide at South Woods State Prison, located in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The victim, identified as Keyon Wade, had been located unresponsive inside his cell, having sustained severe head and neck injuries. Mr. Wade succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

     During the ensuing investigation, the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the Cause of Death to be blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and the Manner of Death to be homicide. Detectives of the Special Investigations Unit and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Cole was the only individual who had access to Mr. Wade when the injuries, which include multiple skull fractures, as well as a fractured spine, were inflicted.