Appeals Court Upholds Life Sentence For Bristol Twp. Stabbing Death

An appeals court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a Bristol Township man who fatally stabbed his cousin during a violent altercation in December 2021.

David Joseph Jenner, 41, was sentenced in 2023 by Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Finley to life in prison without parole for the murder of his cousin, Charlie Thomas Jr., 43, also of Bristol Township inside the Bristol Township home where both men were living.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania judges Mary P. Murray, Megan McCarthy King, and Megan Sullivan ruled late last year that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction and rejected Jenner’s claim that he acted in self-defense or was suffering from a mental health episode at the time.

According to court records, Jenner had been staying at Thomas’ home after being released from prison. The living arrangement deteriorated over time due to disputes, including Jenner losing his job and a falling-out with Thomas over personal issues.

On a December 2021 night, Jenner reportedly stormed into the house along Veterans Highway (Route 413) in Bristol Township in a state of agitation and claimed he had been shot at outside. Witnesses, including Thomas’ mother testified that no gunfire had been heard.

The prosecution presented testimony from residents of the home and cellphone footage capturing Jenner wielding a knife and engaging in an argument before the fatal stabbing occurred.

Thomas’ mother suffered a non-fatal stab wound while attempting to shield her son from the attack.

Bristol Township police arrived at the scene shortly after the stabbing started and took Jenner into custody at gunpoint.

“I stabbed him,” Jenner said in police body camera footage. “The evidence is right there.”

Forensic pathologist Zhongxue Hua testified during the trial that Thomas sustained eight stab wounds from a large kitchen knife, including a fatal five-inch-deep wound to the left side of his chest, which punctured his lung and caused severe bleeding. Other injuries included stab wounds to his left arm, three to his lower back, and one on his buttocks.

Jenner appealed his conviction, arguing that he was delusional at the time and lacked the intent to kill. He claimed he believed there was a threat and that the killing was an act of “imperfect self-defense,” which could have reduced the charge to voluntary manslaughter.

David Joseph Jenner. Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office

However, the appellate court ruled that the evidence did not support Jenner’s claims.

The court cited testimony from the only psychiatric expert at the trial. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. John O’Brien stated that Jenner was not suffering from a mental illness or psychosis at the time of the murder.

The court also pointed to Jenner’s own trial testimony, in which he admitted knowing that Thomas was fatally wounded but continued stabbing him.

The judges concluded that Jenner acted with malice and clear intent to kill, They said the evidence and conviction met the legal threshold for first-degree murder.

With the ruling, Jenner will remain in state prison for the rest of his life. In addition to the murder conviction, he was found guilty of aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, and recklessly endangering another person.

Months before the killing, Thomas and his mother offered Jenner a place to stay when he had nowhere else to go.

Jenner has a criminal history that started at the age of 18. It covers a range of offenses from drug-related charges to deliberately flooding a police holding cell.