Montco meat-plant worker pleads not guilty in slaying

A former Montgomery County meat-plant employee charged with the stabbing death of a co-worker entered a not-guilty plea Wednesday.

Prosecutors say that Peter Jok Atem, 32, killed Danny Vazquez at a Franconia meat plant on Feb. 18 in retaliation for a prank the day before, in which Vazquez had pulled a chair out from under Atem.

Police said a witness saw the two men get into a fight and Atem stab Vazquez. Prosecutors said Atem was found in a shed near the scene with stab wounds of his own. Also in the shed, detectives said, they found a knife and a note that said "see you in hell."

"It was a fight, and it got beyond what it should have," said defense attorney Benjamin Cooper.

Atem, who was born in Sudan and lives in Lansdale, was arraigned Wednesday morning before Montgomery County Judge Cheryl L. Austin and was being held at the county jail.

Cooper said Wednesday that he needed to learn more about what happened before advising Atem on what legal course to pursue.

- Laura McCrystal