The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A 54-year-old Ellenwood, Ga., man remained in Somerset County Jail, Somerville May 2 on murder and weapons charges following an incident at a Davidson Avenue hotel.
Franklin Police Department received a call at about 2 a.m. May 2 from the man, asking that an officer respond to the hotel on a report of injuries, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
FTPD was met by the man, who directed police to his car, parked at the rear of the hotel, the release said.
Responding officers saw an unresponsive woman in the car’s passenger seat, the release said. She was then pronounced dead, and the man was detained and taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries and a medical evaluation.
The man was later release by the hospital and taken to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office in Somerville, the release said.
As a result of the investigation by detectives from the Franklin Township Police Department along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit, and Medical Investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, the man on May 2 was charged with 1st Degree Murder and 3rd Degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
The woman’s identity is being withheld pending positive identification by the Medical Examiner’s Office, which will also investigate the cause and manner of death, according to the press release.
The man was taken to Somerset County Jail, Somerville, pending a detention hearing.
Anyone with information relating to this investigation is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or to SCPO.TIPS. All anonymous STOPit reports, and tips will be kept confidential.
