An area 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to an aggravated manslaughter charge stemming from a fatal 2025 stabbing, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Wednesday.

During a hearing held before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley on Monday, Nija Faust, of Long Branch, pleaded guilty to the single charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter.

The case background …

On Friday, March 7, 2025, at 11:33 p.m., Long Branch police responded to a report of a stabbing in the vicinity of the 200 block of Broadway. Upon arrival, officers found a 35-year-old male suffering from multiple stab wounds.

The victim, later identified as Eren Kurkcu, of Long Branch, was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Kurkcu later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Saturday, March 8, 2025.

An investigation by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau and the Long Branch Police Department determined Faust was responsible for the stabbing. The investigation further resulted in 21-year-old Santana Rivera-Cosme also being charged in connection with the crime.

Rivera-Cosme had previously pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree aggravated assault and is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, March 17.

Sentencing for Faust is tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 12, at which time the state intends to seek a term of 26 years in state prison, with 85 percent of the sentence to be served before the possibility of parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office

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