By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Monmouth County announced that an Ocean County man has been sentenced to 50 years in state prison for fatally strangling his wife and leaving her body on the side of the road in Ocean Township following an argument.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago stated Jeremy B. Cruz, 53, of Forked River, was sentenced on a charge of first-degree Murder on Tuesday, September 10, before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley.
Officials said Cruz must serve a minimum of 85 percent of that sentence before the possibility of parole, in accordance with New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).
Cruz was found guilty following a trial before Judge O’Malley on Wednesday, April 24, officials say.
According to officials, just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, October 30, 2022, a woman who appeared to have sustained severe injuries was observed by a concerned motorist on Colonial Avenue, near the intersection with Asbury Avenue.
Upon responding, Ocean Township Police Department officers located the victim, identified as 51-year-old Dawn C. Cruz, who was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities say.
Officials stated that Jeremy Cruz turned himself in to authorities at Berkeley Township Police Department headquarters in Ocean County at approximately the same time.
A joint investigation by Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office members, Ocean Township Police Department, Asbury Park Police Department, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and Berkeley Township Police Department led to the Murder charge, officials said.
Authorities say Cruz was indicted in January 2023.
Officials stated that at trial, the State disproved the defendant’s intoxication defense, leading to the conviction.