Authorities say messages, a basement scene and a later rest stop discovery shaped the first hours of the murder case.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A 67-year-old Ocean Township man has been charged with murder after police said his wife was found dead inside their Seward Drive home May 27 following two 911 calls reporting a killing.

Michael A. Kless is accused of killing Stacy E. Kless, 66, his wife of nearly four decades, inside the couple’s home in the 100 block of Seward Drive. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said he faces first-degree murder, fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The weapon cited in the case is a barbell.

The case began as an emergency response at about 9:30 a.m. when Ocean Township police were sent to the home after two separate callers reported a murder. Officers arrived and found Stacy Kless obviously deceased, authorities said. A probable cause affidavit later described the scene as being in the basement, where a barbell was found over her neck and throat area. Investigators from the prosecutor’s Major Crimes Bureau and Ocean Township police took over the case soon after. Prosecutors said the inquiry quickly identified Michael Kless as the person responsible for the killing. At that point, police also had information that he had left the home.

Records described by authorities and news outlets said the first reports to police came through people who had received messages from Michael Kless after the killing. One caller told police Kless had contacted him and said he killed his wife and planned to kill himself. Another caller reported an email admission involving the caller’s mother. Investigators later reviewed an email in which Kless allegedly described a long-held hatred of Stacy Kless, a new intimate relationship with a woman from Central America and details of the killing that matched evidence found at the house. His adult children also gave investigators text messages in which he allegedly admitted killing their mother.

The morning also included a brief encounter at the home before police arrived. A work crew had come to the Seward Drive house for a repair job, according to court records described by investigators. Workers told authorities Michael Kless met them at the door with a scratch or blood on his face, refused to let them inside and asked that the appointment be rescheduled. Prosecutors later pointed to the mark on his face as part of the evidence from the scene. The defense has offered a different meaning for those injuries, saying they came during a struggle in the basement. Authorities have not released a full autopsy report or a complete forensic timeline.

After police began looking for Michael Kless, investigators tracked his vehicle to the Garden State Parkway. He later contacted someone and said he was at a rest stop and was attempting to overdose on medication, according to the affidavit. New Jersey State Police found him unconscious in his vehicle at a rest stop. He was hospitalized in critical condition before being moved to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. During a later court hearing, Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Michael Luciano said Ambien and a bottle of tequila were found in the vehicle. Kless survived and appeared in court after being charged.

At a June 3 detention hearing in Monmouth County Superior Court, Michael Kless pleaded not guilty. His public defender, Joshua Hood, told Judge Paul Escandon that the killing was an act of self-defense during a workout in the couple’s basement gym. Hood said the couple had been lifting weights as part of a usual morning routine when Stacy Kless attacked him with weights. Prosecutors said she was strangled with a barbell and argued that the physical evidence, his alleged admissions and his conduct after leaving the home supported detention. Escandon ordered Kless held without bail at the Monmouth County jail.

The hearing also opened a fuller account of the couple’s long marriage and the tensions investigators say preceded the killing. Prosecutors said Michael Kless wrote that Stacy Kless had told him 18 years earlier that she was no longer in love with him, a statement he described as deeply painful and something he never got over. The affidavit said his email also referred to a relationship with a woman from Central America. Hood told the court the new relationship involved a woman Kless met on a fishing trip to Costa Rica and said Stacy Kless knew about it. The defense said the couple still appeared socially connected, attended parties, traveled, spoke with neighbors and watched their grandchildren every Friday.

Outside court, Stacy Epstein Kless was remembered by local officials and community members as a mother and grandmother whose death stunned Ocean Township. Mayor John P. Napolitani Sr. described her as kind-hearted and loving in public remarks after the killing. A celebration of life was scheduled for June 4 at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune Township. The public image of the couple as longtime spouses and grandparents stood beside a sharply different account in court, where prosecutors described alleged admissions and resentment, while the defense described a troubled marriage and a sudden confrontation.

Currently, Michael Kless remains charged but not convicted. The case is expected to continue in Monmouth County Superior Court as prosecutors present the matter through the normal criminal process and defense attorneys challenge the state’s account. As of June 29, the next public milestone had not been reported beyond his detention and not-guilty plea.

Author note: Last updated June 29, 2026.