Fuquan Alexander, 29, an N.J. state prison inmate, was indicted for attempting to murder Eligia Then, an N.J. corrections officer who suffered brain trauma after Alexander beat and choked her last month, officials said.
TRENTON — A 29-year-old New Jersey state prison inmate has been indicted in the attempted murder of a female corrections officer after he beat and choked her during an attack last month, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office announced today in a statement.
Fuquan Alexander punched senior corrections officer Eligia Then in the head and face numerous times and choked her as she led him from his cell to the shower, causing her brain trauma, officials said.
Then was hospitalized for about two weeks undergoing therapy to regain motor coordination, said Lance Lopez Sr., the president of the Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 105, in an interview with The Star-Ledger.
As Then tried to fight Alexander off, an unidentified person pulled the riot alarm, summoning more officers to the unit, Lopez said.
Then was initially taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton before being transferred to the hospital’s New Brunswick location. She was treated for cuts to her cheek and eyebrow, bruises to her nose and right eye, and pain on her upper lip and the back of her head.
Then's cognitive skills began to deteriorate as hours and days went on, Lopez said.
Alexander is serving a 30-year sentence for a February 2008 carjacking and kidnapping incident in Essex County, the statement said. He was transferred out of the prison for his own protection in accordance with standard procedures, Lopez said.
Alexander was indicted on one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree aggravated assault, the statement said.
The Star-Ledger contributed to this report.
Contact Nicole Mulvaney at nmulvaney@njtimes.com.
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