Bucks County Jury Convicts Man Of First-Degree Murder In 2024 Lower Makefield Stabbing
by Dan Doyle | DelawareValleyNews.com
DOYLESTOWN, PA — A Bucks County jury on Friday, January 16, 2026, convicted a Churchville man of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his former girlfriend, a 19-year-old Lower Makefield Township woman, a crime prosecutors said was planned and driven by obsession after the relationship ended.
Trevor Weigel, 25, was found guilty in the Feb. 16, 2024, killing of Jaden Battista following jury deliberations that lasted just over an hour. The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Weigel is scheduled to be sentenced March 23 by Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller.
Jurors also convicted Weigel of burglary, attempted kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, possession of an instrument of crime, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. Liller additionally found him guilty of a summary harassment charge.
Deputy District Attorney Alan J. Garabedian told jurors the killing was premeditated, occurring after Battista ended the couple’s brief relationship and blocked Weigel on her phone and social media accounts. Prosecutors said Weigel left his job at a Warminster manufacturing plant and drove about 30 minutes to Battista’s home while leaving a series of increasingly desperate voicemails.
“If he couldn’t have her, nobody was going to have her,” Garabedian said during closing arguments.
Testimony showed that Weigel forced his way through a first-floor bedroom window while Battista was on a FaceTime call with a friend. Battista, who was barefoot and wearing pajama bottoms, was forced outside toward Weigel’s red Mustang in what prosecutors described as an attempted kidnapping.
When Battista resisted and ran toward a responding Lower Makefield police officer, Weigel tackled her in the street and stabbed her 14 times, according to testimony.
Police were dispatched at 2:22 p.m. to a reported burglary in progress in the 2500 block of Waterford Road. Jurors viewed body camera footage capturing the attack and the efforts by officers and first responders to provide life-saving aid as Battista pleaded for help.
Defense attorneys urged the jury to return a verdict of voluntary manslaughter, arguing Weigel acted in a sudden rage after Battista allegedly admitted to infidelity. Prosecutors countered with cellphone data and voicemails they said showed Weigel’s anger building well before he arrived at the residence.
Weigel testified in his own defense, saying he and Battista began dating in mid-2023, broke up twice and reconciled in February 2024. He claimed Battista accepted a marriage proposal after a Valentine’s Day dinner days before the killing. Prosecutors challenged that testimony, noting there was no ring or other evidence to support the claim.
Following the stabbing, Weigel stabbed himself in the neck and fled on foot, crossing a fence and running onto Interstate 295 before being apprehended by police, prosecutors said. A bloodied knife was recovered at the scene.
Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan praised investigators and prosecutors after the verdict, crediting Lower Makefield Township police and Bucks County detectives for their response and investigation, and commending Garabedian and Assistant District Attorney Jessica Frost for their work on the case.