The defendant, charged with striking the victim with a hammer over a dozen times, tearfully described how a bout with depression in 2013 led to his drug habit, and how he snorts 10 to 15 bags of heroin a day.
Bienkowski stated to the Ocean County jury that the day of the killing, he woke up at 5:30am, snorted some heroin, walked his dog, then came home and did more of the drug. He later went out for errands, including taking his dog to a park and buying more heroin, before staying in for the remainder of the evening.
The defendant’s sneakers were stained with blood that tested positively as a match with the victim, although an expert for the defense stated that the pattern and amount of blood are inconsistent with Bienkowski being present at the time of the attack.
[h/t NJ.Com Image via NJ State Police]