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WILKES-BARRE — A Hanover Township man who was accused of fatally stabbing a romantic rival he found at home with his fiancee last March pleaded guilty Tuesday to a count of third-degree murder.
James Andrew Cater, 31, entered the plea before Luzerne County President Judge Richard M. Hughes III.
Cater was accused of fatally stabbing Joseph “Joey” Lewis, 18, inside Cater’s apartment in the Marion Terrace complex March 21.
Cater arrived at his apartment, which he shared with fiancee Jennie Lloyd, to find the door locked, police say.
Cater banged on the door, and Lloyd answered it. Cater saw Lewis, of Wilkes-Barre, sleeping on a couch.
Cater went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed Lewis in the torso.
Lewis briefly struggled with Cater before running out of the apartment. His body was found a short distance away near a Dumpster.
Police say they found Cater sitting on the front step of his apartment. He allegedly told them, “I hope he doesn’t make it.”
Cater later told police he had caught Lewis and Lloyd in bed together about a month before the stabbing.
Hughes set Cater’s sentencing for April 29. He remains locked up at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility to await his punishment.
