The following release is by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
A Cherry Hill man has been sentenced to New Jersey State Prison after a Camden County jury returned a guilty verdict in April for the March 2021 murder of his ex-wife, announced Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay.
On April 3, 2024, Philip Puche, 76, was convicted of first-degree Murder, first-degree Robbery, second-degree Burglary, and third-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in connection to the murder of Nancy Kenny on March 15, 2021. The verdict was returned after a jury trial in Camden County Superior Court.
On May 15, 2024, the court sentenced Puche for first-degree Murder to 40 years in New Jersey State Prison under the No Early Release Act, which requires Puche to serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole. Puche was sentenced concurrently to New Jersey State Prison under the No Early Release Act to 10 years on the first-degree Robbery and 7 years on the second-degree Burglary. He was also sentenced to 4 years in New Jersey State Prison concurrent on the third degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
On July 19, 2020, at approximately 10:00 a.m., the defendant, Puche, attacked his ex-wife Nancy Kenny just as she was entering her vehicle outside of her home in Audubon Park. During this attack, the defendant slashed Kenny multiple times with a sharp object, causing major lacerations to both sides of her neck, along with other injuries to her body. The defendant also took Kenny’s purse during the attack. Kenny was rushed to Cooper University Hospital, where she received emergency surgery. Eight months later, on March 15, 2021, Kenny succumbed to the injuries she previously sustained in the attack.
The State was represented at trial by Assistant Prosecutor Erin S. Deitz of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was investigated by Detective Jovan Plaza and Detective Alison Dube Smith of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and Sgt. Robert Mulhern of Haddon Township Police Department.
