Pitman man gets prison term for killing mother

A Pitman man who strangled his mother after an argument in March 2006 was sentenced yesterday in Superior Court to 15 years in prison.

Benjamin H. Martin, 32, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in November. His mother, Nancy A. Martin, 51, lived in Carbondale, Ill., and was a fund-raiser for Southern Illinois University.

Nancy Martin previously worked for the United Way, once serving as executive director of its Gloucester County branch. She owned the Pitman home where her son lived.

In an interview in 2006, Joshua Martin said that Benjamin, his older brother, had suffered a lifetime of abuse from their mother. She had mocked his speech impediment, slapped him, and forced him to sleep in the rain if he forgot to take out the trash, Joshua Martin said. Benjamin Martin said at his plea hearing that his mother arrived unexpectedly at the home and drank a "substantial amount" of alcohol over the next 12 hours. They got into an argument over his housekeeping and he strangled her. Nearly three weeks later, he led police to where he had left her body at a vacant farm in Monroe Township. - Troy Graham