A Pennsylvania jury convicted Trevor Weigel after prosecutors rejected a manslaughter argument.
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — Voicemails, cellphone data and police body camera video helped Bucks County prosecutors prove Trevor Christopher Weigel committed first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Jaden Battista.
Weigel, 25, was sentenced April 28 to life in prison without parole, followed by an additional five to 20 years. The sentence came after a January trial in which jurors rejected the defense claim that Weigel snapped and should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder. Prosecutors said the record showed planning, forced entry, attempted kidnapping and a final attack in view of police.
The case against Weigel began with evidence from the hours and minutes before the stabbing. Prosecutors said Battista had ended the couple’s short relationship and blocked Weigel’s phone number and social media accounts. On Feb. 16, 2024, Weigel left his manufacturing job in Warminster and drove about 30 minutes to the Lower Makefield Township home where Battista was staying. During the drive, authorities said, he left a series of increasingly desperate voicemails demanding to know why she had cut off contact. Those messages later became part of the prosecution’s answer to the defense claim that the killing happened only after a sudden emotional break.
The next set of evidence came from inside the home. Battista was on FaceTime with her best friend when Weigel arrived, banged on the door and entered through a first-floor bedroom window, prosecutors said. The friend was still connected as the encounter unfolded and later called 911. Authorities said Battista was barefoot and wearing Care Bear pajamas when Weigel forced her outside and toward his red Mustang. The prosecution used those details to support the attempted kidnapping charge and to show that Battista was taken from the home against her will before she managed to run.
Police body camera footage provided the final part of the timeline. Lower Makefield Township officers had been dispatched to a burglary in progress at the Waterford Road home. As an officer arrived, Battista ran toward him. Prosecutors said Weigel chased her, tackled her and stabbed her 14 times. Officials said the video captured Battista’s pleas for help and the emergency response that followed. It also placed the fatal violence in the street at the same time police were reaching the scene, leaving little room for dispute over the sequence of the attack.
After the stabbing, Weigel fled, investigators said. Police said he climbed a fence, ran toward an interstate and stabbed himself in the neck during the chase. Officers used a Taser and arrested him. A bloody knife was recovered at the scene. Weigel survived after medical treatment while in custody. The physical evidence, the officers’ observations and the video were paired with digital records to show what prosecutors described as a continuous chain from angry messages to forced entry, attempted abduction, fatal stabbing and flight.
Defense lawyers did not persuade jurors to accept a lesser version of the case. They argued Weigel had snapped after Battista allegedly confessed to cheating on him. Prosecutors said that argument did not fit the evidence. Deputy District Attorney Alan J. Garabedian told jurors that Weigel’s rage began before he reached the home and that the killing was a deliberate act after Battista ended the relationship. “If he couldn’t have her, nobody was going to have her,” Garabedian said. The jury deliberated just over an hour before finding Weigel guilty of first-degree murder and multiple related offenses.
The verdict included first-degree murder, burglary, criminal attempted kidnapping, possession of an instrument of crime, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. Judge Charissa J. Liller also found Weigel guilty of harassment. The first-degree murder conviction required a life sentence without the possibility of parole. At sentencing, Liller imposed that term and added five to 20 years in state prison. The additional sentence reflected the other conduct surrounding the killing, including the forced entry and attempted kidnapping.
The April hearing also added testimony about Battista’s life and the impact of her death. Her mother read two statements, one from herself and one written by Battista’s father. She described Battista as kind, compassionate and loving toward animals. The family mentioned her dog, Tater, and black cat, Socks. Her mother said the loss left an emptiness in the family home and affected Battista’s two younger sisters, who must continue without their older sister. “Jaden was a gentle soul in a world that was far too cruel to her,” her mother said in court.
Garabedian also read a statement from Battista’s best friend, who had been on the FaceTime call when the attack began. The friend described Battista as a bright soul and said losing her had left a hole that could not truly be filled. The statement linked the trial evidence to the human cost of the case. The friend was not only a witness to the early moments of the crime, prosecutors said, but also one of the people closest to Battista. Her 911 call helped bring police to the scene.
District Attorney Joe Khan said after sentencing that the legal system had ensured Weigel would never have the chance to take another life. Lower Makefield Police Chief Joseph Kelly said his department was grateful for the work of prosecutors, detectives and officers who handled the case. The investigation was conducted by Lower Makefield Township police and Bucks County detectives, and the prosecution was led by Garabedian and Assistant District Attorney Jessica Frost. The county has described the sentence as the conclusion of the criminal case.
For now, Weigel remains under a life-without-parole sentence entered April 28 in Bucks County Court. The evidence that jurors heard in January now stands as the record supporting the murder conviction.
Author note: Last updated May 21, 2026.