Crime News

PLANE CRASH INVESTIGATION – First responders gathered along Hilltop Lane March 30 in the investigation of a single-engine plane crash that killed its pilot. A small plane on its way to North Carolina from Princeton crashed in a wooded area off Hilltop Lane March 30, killing a person believed to be the pilot, authorities said. The pilot, who was not identified …

A 34-year-old Somerset man is in custody after he was found with more than 300 videos depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child, police said. The March 7 arrest of the man came after an investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit, following a tip passed on by the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes …

Three men were arrested in February and charged with committing house burglaries in Franklin and Hillsborough in late 2024. Arrested were a 42-year-old Bridgewater man, a 35-year-old Manville man, and a 30-year-old Elizabeth man, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. The men face a variety of charges, including 2nd Degree Burglary, 2nd Degree Theft, and …

Daniel Matthews. (SCPO) A 45-year-old Brooklyn, NY man faces life in prison after his March 3 conviction for the 2023 murder of a township man. Jurors found Daniel Matthews guilty of 1st Degree Murder, 1st Degree Robbery, 2nd Degree Conspiracy to Disturb Human Remains, 2nd Degree Disturbing Human Remains, and two counts of 3rd Degree Hindering Apprehension after a two-week …

The 26-year-old mother of a 4-year-old boy police say was killed last year in a township hotel has been charged with the child’s murder. The woman, a Linden resident, was arrested on February 24 in Woodbridge, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. The woman was charged with 1st Degree Murder and 2nd Degree Endangering the …

CRASH AFTERMATH — Debris from an accident at Starbucks on Cedar Grove Lane. Photo: Jamie Kroponsky-Sternfels. A 74-year-old township woman mistakenly pushed the accelerator rather than the brake on her car, sending the auto into a front window at Starbucks on Cedar Grove Lane on February 21. The woman, who was not identified, was not injured, police said. Police said …

A 36-year-old Woodbridge man was arrested recently on charges that he killed his 4-year-old son in a township hotel in 2024. The man was charged with 1st Degree Murder and 2nd Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Police were called to the hotel at about 3:24 p.m. on …

A 28-year-old North Plainfield resident was killed early in the morning of February 1 in an automobile accident on South Middlebush Road. Franklin Township police said they received a 9-1-1 call about an accident at South Middlebush and Jacques Lane at about 2:49 a.m. Responding officers found that the woman – identified as Kelly D. Haymond – was driving a …

Rumors circulating on social media that a serial killer is in the area are not true, township policed said on January 22. The issue was addressed in a late-evening press release from the Franklin Township Police Department, the text of which follows: “The Franklin Township Police Department is actively addressing and dispelling unfounded rumors circulating on social media regarding the …

A former district school bus monitor faces up to 10 years in state prison following her January 13 conviction in connection with the 2023 strangling death in a bus of a special needs student. Amanda Davila, 28, of New Brunswick was convicted of 2nd Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child after a week-long trial in New Brunswick Superior Court. …