A jury has returned a guilty verdict on all counts against three men charged with the 2009 killing of Red Bank Middle School teacher Jonelle Melton who was found dead in her Neptune City apartment, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Officials say Ebenezer Byrd, 39, and Gregory A. Jean-Baptiste, 30, both of Asbury Park, and Jerry J. Spraulding, 41, of Keansburg, were each found guilty on all counts in connection with the Sept. 14, 2009 murder of 33-year-old Melton.
According to authorities, the three men were found guilty of first degree Felony Murder, first degree Robbery, second degree Conspiracy, second degree Burglary, second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and second degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. Additionally, Byrd and Jean-Baptiste were found guilty of first degree Witness Tampering. Byrd and Spraulding convicted of second degree Certain Persons Not to Possess Weapons due to prior convictions involving a weapon.
The verdict comes after two days of deliberations by the jury following a nine-week trial in the courtroom of Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.