Michael Kless pleaded not guilty as prosecutors and defense lawyers gave clashing accounts of a fatal basement encounter.
FREEHOLD, N.J. — A Monmouth County judge ordered Michael A. Kless held without bail after prosecutors accused him of killing his wife with a barbell and his attorney said the death followed a violent struggle during a workout.
The June 3 detention hearing moved the Ocean Township murder case from the home where Stacy E. Kless was found dead to a courtroom where both sides began setting out sharply different versions of the case. Kless, 67, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and weapons offenses in the May 27 death of his wife, who was 66. Prosecutors said the evidence showed a killing tied to resentment and an affair. The defense said Michael Kless acted in self-defense.
Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Michael Luciano told the court that officers found Stacy Kless in the basement of the couple’s home in the 100 block of Seward Drive with a barbell over her throat and neck area. Police had been called to the address at about 9:30 a.m. after two separate 911 calls reported a murder. Authorities said those calls followed messages Michael Kless allegedly sent after the death. Investigators later said his adult children provided texts in which he admitted killing their mother. The prosecution also cited an email that allegedly described the killing in a way that matched the scene.
Deputy Public Defender Joshua Hood gave the judge a different account. He said Michael and Stacy Kless were in their basement gym for a normal morning workout when the confrontation began. Hood said Stacy Kless struck Michael Kless with weights after he asked her to hand them to him. He told the court Michael Kless believed his wife would carry out threats she had made against him and defended himself. Hood said the marks on Michael Kless’ face supported the defense view that he had been attacked first. Prosecutors said the same injuries were consistent with Stacy Kless fighting for her life.
The courtroom arguments also reached back into the marriage. Hood said the couple had lived for years with private strain while still presenting themselves publicly as partners. He described them as essentially roommates who still attended parties, took trips, interacted with neighbors and babysat their grandchildren every Friday. Prosecutors pointed instead to Michael Kless’ own alleged words. In an email described in court and in the affidavit, he allegedly wrote that Stacy Kless had told him 18 years earlier that she no longer loved him and that the statement deeply hurt him. Investigators said he wrote of a long-simmering hatred.
The state also tied the alleged motive to a relationship outside the marriage. The affidavit said Michael Kless had been involved in a new intimate relationship with a woman from Central America. Hood said in court that the woman was someone Kless met on a fishing trip to Costa Rica and that he had told Stacy Kless he wanted a girlfriend. The defense said Stacy Kless did not take the matter seriously at first, but later confronted him. Prosecutors said the affair, the alleged hatred and the detailed messages after the death formed part of a broader picture of intent. The woman has not been accused of a crime in the public record.
Before police entered the home, a repair crew had arrived at the Seward Drive property. Workers told investigators that Michael Kless answered the door with blood or a scratch visible on his face, refused them entry and asked them to reschedule the work. That brief encounter became an important piece of the early timeline. The state presented it as evidence that he was trying to keep people away from the scene. The defense used the same detail to argue that he had been injured in the confrontation he described. Authorities have not publicly released all forensic findings, and the full medical evidence will likely become central if the case reaches trial.
After the killing, police searched for Michael Kless beyond Ocean Township. Investigators tracked his vehicle north on the Garden State Parkway. He later told someone he was at a rest stop and was trying to overdose on medication, according to the affidavit. New Jersey State Police found him unconscious in his vehicle. Luciano told the court that Ambien and a bottle of tequila were in the car. Kless was hospitalized in critical condition before being moved to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution. The state argued his travel and his connection to a woman outside the country made him a flight risk.
Judge Paul Escandon ordered Kless detained while the case proceeds. The decision did not decide guilt or innocence, but it kept him jailed during the next phase of the prosecution. Prosecutors must still prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense, meanwhile, has already signaled that it will challenge not only intent but the basic account of how the basement encounter began. The case now turns toward evidence that can test both narratives: the autopsy, the condition of the barbell and weights, electronic messages, phone records, witness interviews and forensic findings from the home.
Stacy Epstein Kless’ death also drew public grief in Ocean Township, where local officials described her as a loving mother and grandmother. A celebration of life was scheduled the day after the detention hearing at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune Township. The public remembrance focused on the person who died, while the criminal case focused on how she died and whether her husband’s account can withstand the evidence gathered by police.
Michael Kless remained jailed as of the latest public reports, with the murder charge and two weapons counts pending in Monmouth County Superior Court. The next major step is expected to come through further court filings, grand jury action or scheduled proceedings tied to the state’s murder case.
Author note: Last updated June 29, 2026.