N.J. man accused of fatally stabbing woman allegedly wrote 'step-by-step' plan to kill her
02/06/2024 2:35 pm PST
SOMERVILLE, N.J. (TCD) -- Officials recently charged a 27-year-old man on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 27-year-old woman he knew after he allegedly wrote a manifesto planning her death.
According to a news release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at around 10:20 p.m., officers with the Somerville Police Department responded to an apartment complex on North Bridge Street, where they found Maryrose Fealey suffering from apparent stab wounds. Officers and responding medical personnel performed lifesaving measures on the victim but eventually pronounced her dead at the scene.
According to NJ.com, a relative found the victim, who was walking on her way home from a business when she was stabbed. Her car door had reportedly been left ajar, and some of her personal belongings were scattered in the front yard.
The Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined Fealey died of multiple stab wounds, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators identified David Shroitman as a suspect via "word of mouth," NJ.com reports. Police obtained surveillance footage that reportedly revealed a man matching Shroitman’s description near the area of North Bridge and Cliff streets at approximately 9 p.m. on the night of Fealey’s death.
According to NJ.com, Shroitman went to a business in Bridgewater the next day, and when investigators went to speak with him, he refused. Detectives reportedly observed a garbage bag over the driver’s seat of his vehicle, as well as a boot gaiter and duct tape inside the car.
Investigators allegedly saw Shroitman wearing clear latex gloves while cleaning his vehicle, and a bleach-like odor emitted from a puddle near the driver’s side.
NJ.com reports police located a discarded blood-covered latex glove on East Cliff Street shortly after.
According to the prosecutor’s office, investigators obtained a search warrant for Shroitman’s home on Sunday, Feb. 4. Inside, officials allegedly noticed blood in the entrance and bathroom, and they found a manifesto "laying out a step-by-step" plan to kill the victim.
Investigators also reportedly found clothes matching those worn by the man on the surveillance footage, as well as some bleach-covered clothing. Additionally, NJ.com reports Shroitman’s car was "doused in bleach."
According to the prosecutor’s office, officials arrested and charged Shroitman on Monday, Feb. 5. He faces charges of first-degree murder, possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering apprehension.
Shroitman was booked into the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
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