Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II reported that Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, who is serving 160 years in prison for killing three women and attempting to murder a fourth, Wheeler-Weaver is scheduled to be arraigned (today) October 26, at 9 a.m. before the Honorable Mark Ali, the sixth floor of Veteran's Courthouse.
Wheeler Weaver has been charged in the new indictment for murdering a 15-year-old girl.
In addition to murder, the defendant is charged with attempted sexual assault of a minor, endangering the welfare of a child, and desecration of human remains.
The investigation into this incident began on April 9, 2019, when the mummified remains of a young woman were discovered in a vacant building behind Cotton's Funeral Home in Orange.
Mawa Doumbia was of African descent and was reported missing by her father in Newark. When police found her decomposed remains at the time, they were only able to tell the body was of a woman due to her colored hair weave.
An autopsy showed the victim had been strangled to death. After an extensive investigation, the victim was identified as a 15-year-old from Newark.
Authorities would not say if Doumbia was killed inside the abandoned house or brought there during Wheeler-Weaver's murder spree.
Once her remains were identified, detectives were able to develop additional evidence that led to these charges being filed against Wheeler-Weaver.
Prosecutor Stephens thanks Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Adam B. Wells, detectives from the Prosecutor's Homicide and Cold-Case units, and members of the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences for their work in this investigation.
The Prosecutor's Office was also assisted by staff at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
These new charges and allegations herein are accusations.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless or until they are convicted in a court of law.