WASHINGTON BOROUGH, NJ (Warren County) – An Easton man was sentenced to prison for killing a woman and assaulting her son, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
Kyle Kaspereen, 26, of Easton was charged on pleaded guilty on Oct. 31 in Warren County Superior Court to first-degree murder, and second-degree aggravated assault.
Kaspereen was sentenced on Dec. 20 to 35 years in New Jersey State Prison with a 30 year period of parole ineligibility.
On Nov. 30, 2021, Washington Township Police Officers were dispatched to 122 Wayne Street in Washington Borough for a report of a vicious assault, authorities said.
Upon arrival, Elaine Trachin, 84, was found unconscious, and William “Bart” Trachin, 53, was found taped to his wheelchair, with a garbage bag over his head, and critically injured, the prosecutor’s office said.
On Dec. 1, 2021, a review of Mr. Trachin’s phone records revealed numerous contacts with Kaspereen regarding the purported sale of a motorcycle owned by Mr. Trachin. While Kaspereen was being interviewed, he was discovered to be deleting text messages and calls from his cellular phone. When confronted, he acknowledged the deletions and explained that what was on his phone contradicted his statement to law enforcement, authorities said.
At that time, Kaspereen was charged with the destruction of that evidence and lodged in Warren County Jail, authorities said.
Additional investigation recovered the deleted content from Kaspereen’s phone, which did in fact contradict his statement to law enforcement regarding his whereabouts, who he had contacted, and the timing of both. His cell phone was also found to be pinging from the scene of the attack at the suspected time of the attack, the prosecutor’s office said.
Further research discovered that Mr. Trachin’s phone and Ms. Trachin’s wallet were both missing from the scene. An analysis of Kaspereen’s phone revealed numerous internet searches that included information on police investigation tactics – specifically with respect to murder- whether there had been any murders in Washington, N.J., and how to use a credit or debit card absent the pin number, authorities said.
These searches were performed after the discovery of Mr. and Ms. Trachin, but before any public announcement about those findings had been released. Video surveillance from hours after the attack appears to show Kaspereen dropping a cellphone into the Delaware River while walking across the Free Bridge from Phillipsburg into Easton, where he resides, the prosecutor’s office said.
A search of the Delaware River by the New Jersey State Police discovered Mr. Trachin’s phone near where that surveillance identified Kaspereen dropping it from the bridge, authorities said.
A search of Kaspereen’s apartment revealed a trash bag consistent with that found over Mr. Trachin’s head that was unused and discarded. The search also discovered an empty box from a BB pistol that hr was found to have purchased in the last two weeks, the prosecutor’s office said.
The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office investigated this incident jointly with the Washington Township Police Department and the New Jersey State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and United States Secret Service.
