His medical care while incarcerated has cost the county over $340,000, according to a report.
MOUNT HOLLY TWP. -- The 79-year-old who is charged with nearly killing his estranged wife a year ago is unlikely to be tried because he only has weeks to live.
The Burlington County Times reports that John Teti, of Barrington, has terminal stage 4 lung cancer and is so ill that he has been transferred to the palliative care unit at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton.
He was supposed to be tried in February but the trial was delayed because of his health, the newspaper reported.
Teti was charged with trying to kill his estranged wife March 8, 2016 after authorities found the woman, unresponsive and not breathing, in her front yard in Evesham. Police were able to revive her using CPR and an automated external defibrillator.
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The county has footed the bill for over $340,000 in medical costs for Teti during his illness, the Burlington County Times reported.
He has been held on $250,000 cash bail despite requests from his niece, Debra Loggia, that he be released into her custody because he is dying, according to the newspaper. Loggia has criticized the prosecutor's office for not dropping the charges.
"At this point he has weeks to live. This is vindictiveness on the part of the prosecutor's office." https://t.co/NMixL33z8p
-- BurlCo Times (@BurlcoTimes) April 17, 2017
The newspaper reported that at a conference in Burlington County Superior Court Monday, Teti's public defender, Jennifer Weiler, told Judge Jeanne T. Covert that she plans to submit a motion to dismiss the charges but has been waiting on medical records she requested from the Cumberland County prison three weeks ago.
Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Rose Mesa said that the state won't dismiss the charges without a legal basis, the newspaper reported.
Teti was told back in February that he had no more than three months to live, the Times reported.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.