Crime & Safety

Man Charged With Carolyn Stone Murder Released After Plea Deal

Prosecutor's Office agrees to lower charge to aggravated sexual assault and Rocky DiTaranto released for time served.

Under terms of a plea agreement reached, Bridgewater resident Rocky DiTaranto, 26—one of three men charged with the 2009 murder of Carolyn Stone—was scheduled to be released Monday, according to an article posted on MyCentralJersey.com.

DiTaranto entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated sexual assault before state Superior Court Judge Robert Reed, according to terms of an agreement reached with the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

The charge include a five year prison sentence—but DiTaranto has been held at Somerset County Jail for four years and five months, making him eligible for release, Reed is reported to have said.

The report added members of Stone's family were present in the courtroom when the agreement was announced, but had no comment.

DiTaranto had been charged with the murder along with David Granskie and Gary Wilson. Wilson has already entered a guilty plea to the murder charge and is serving a 45-year sentence. Granskie is still waiting for his trial; last week, a state appeals court ruled an expert witness can testify that a confession given by Granskie can be challenged by an expert at his eventual trial on the grounds he was undergoing withdrawal from heroin addiction at the time he made the confession he maintains is false. No trial date has been set. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.