Man Charged in Cold Case Murder
Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that Calvin Johnson, 49, of Newark has been charged with the murder of Andrea Ligons, 31, of East Orange.
Ligons was found strangled to death in the basement of her East Orange apartment building 15 years ago.
Johnson, who also uses the name Tione Johnson and Thomas Williams, has been indicted for Ligons’ murder. His bail was set at $750,000 by the Honorable Michael L. Ravin, Judge of the Superior Court.
Forensic evidence linked Johnson to the unsolved homicide.
On Nov. 8, 2001 the victim was discovered in the basement of an apartment building on North Arlington Avenue in East Orange.
Authorities said she lived in the building at the time.
“In Essex County, a homicide case is never closed until after we have made an arrest and the case has been prosecuted. We were able to bring these charges, nearly 15 years after the homicide occurred, because of the outstanding work of our cold case team,’’ said Acting Prosecutor Murray.
Johnson is currently being held in state prison on an unrelated charge.
These are accusations. All defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until they enter a guilty plea or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.