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Three charged in New Jersey teacher Jonelle Melton’s murder

Jonelle Melton’s murder, a killing that has been a mystery for nearly six years, has been solved and three have been arrested for her death.

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Jonelle Melton's murder mystery finally solved and suspects arrested
Jonelle Melton

Jonelle Melton’s murder, a killing that has been a mystery for nearly six years, has finally been solved.

Jonelle Melton’s murder

On September 13, 2009 33-year-old middle school teacher Jonelle Melton was found beaten to death in her West Sylvania Avenue apartment in the Brighton Arms apartment complex in Neptune City by her husband, Michael Melton.

Michael Melton went to check on his wife after she didn’t answer phone calls or show up to work as a teacher at Red Bank Middle School.

Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Thursday that Byrd – along with James Fair, 27, and Gregory Jean-Baptiste, 26, both of also of Asbury Park – have been charged with murder, armed robbery, conspiracy, burglary and weapons offenses in connect to the 2009 incident that cost Melton her life.

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All three men are currently incarcerated on unrelated charges.

For years, authorities were asking for the public’s assistance in solving the case offering a reward to capture her murder(s).

In August, authorities announced they had a break in the case saying they were close to making an arrest. However, officials have not said what that break was or what evidence led to Byrd, Fair and Jean-Baptiste being charged.

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Gramiccioni said Melton’s killing was essentially a case of “mistaken identity.”

“The offenders had intended to break into one apartment but chose the wrong one. They chose Jonelle’s,” he said. “And once they encountered her, they brutally murdered her.”

All three men pleaded not guilty on the charges on Friday in a Monmouth County courtroom.


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Unheard Voices Magazine is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Unheard Voices is an award-winning news magazine that started in 2004 as a local Black newsletter in the Asbury Park, Neptune, and Long Branch, NJ areas to now broaden into a recognized Black online media outlet. They are the recipient of the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and CV Magazine's Innovator Award for Best Social Justice Communications Company.

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Crime & Justice

Ballot boxes in multiple states set on fire

Local authorities said hundreds of ballots were affected.

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Ballot boxes fire
Photo Credit: Portland Police Bureau

An investigation is underway after at least two ballot boxes were set on fire Monday morning in Oregon and Washington state.

Local authorities said hundreds of ballots were affected.

Ballot boxes on set on fire

Police responded to a call about a fire in Portland about 3:30 a.m. Monday, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement. An “incendiary device” was placed inside the box and security personnel extinguished the fire, officials said.

A second ballot box minutes away from the first was set on fire early Monday morning at a bus station in nearby Vancouver, Washington, according to the Vancouver Police Department. When officers arrived, they found a “suspicious device” next to the box, which was smoking and on fire, police said.

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The box in Vancouver is in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, where one of the most competitive races in the country is taking place.

Other locations

Other fires affecting ballots have been recently reported across the country.

Last week, a mailbox outside a Phoenix post office was set on fire, damaging an unknown number of ballots. A 35-year-old man was charged with arson in that incident. The Phoenix Police Department said he told them it was not politically motivated.

See also  Andrew Tyler, Milwaukee man, killed over beats

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Crime & Justice

GoFundMe started after pastor’s near-death experience

Glenn Germany was giving a sermon at a Pennsylvania church in May when a man tried to shoot him.

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Pastor Glenn Germany
Pastor Glenn Germany (Photo Source: GoFundMe)

Glenn Germany was giving a sermon at a Pennsylvania church in May when a man tried to shoot him.

The gun jammed and a congregation member and the pastor were able to disarm the suspected shooter. Because of that terrifying incident, Pastor Glenn Germany has started a GoFundMe to make improvements to church security.

Pastor Glenn Germany near-death experience

“After this experience, just about everything changed about mine and my family’s life overnight. I went from already being a busy man with 3 jobs to suddenly having even more on my plate – interviews, investigations, conferences, community repair, increased security measures – but nothing was removed from my plate,” the GoFundMe reads.

Seeking help

Germany is the pastor of Jesus Dwelling Place, a small church in East Pittsburgh located in a low income community. The congregation consists of about 70 people, around 15 children, 10 teenagers and 45 adults.

At the church, Germany wears many hats, from cutting grass, to plumbing, to preaching, to bookkeeping to engineering, even their live-streaming is done from his phone.

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In addition to religious services, the church provides its primarily low and fixed-income congregants with housing advice, domestic violence and mental health awareness programs, and seminars on everything from improving health to credit scores.

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To keep the church afloat, Germany and his family give more than $1,000 out of pocket every month. And now he is seeking support to keep the church safe.

“Since May 5th 2024, when that young man came into our church, from that day I had to put on a couple more hats. Prior to that day we did make my brother Pastor Gary Germany the Senior Pastor in order to take some things off my plate. But because of that incident my life has now taken on many new challenges in which I now seek support.”

To donate to the church, visit the GoFundMe.


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Crime & Justice

New Jersey detective shot and killed after suspects kicked in front door of her home

Monica Mosley, a revered detective in South New Jersey, was shot and killed during a home invasion at her residence, authorities said.

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Monica Mosley
Det. Sgt. Monica Mosley is seen in a photo released by the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

Monica Mosley, a revered detective in South New Jersey, was shot and killed during a home invasion at her residence, authorities said.

New Jersey detective Monica Mosley killed

Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley, with the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, was fatally shot at her home in Bridgeton on Tuesday night, according to police.

The incident

Bridgeton Police responded to the home around 10:30 p.m. for a report of “several subjects kicking in a front door at a residence,” the Bridgeton Police Department said in a press release.

Mosley, 51, died at the scene, police said.

An individual who had been treated for a gunshot wound at a nearby hospital was detained for questioning in connection with the incident, police said. No additional information on the individual was released.

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Law enforcement career

Mosley began her career in 2006 at the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office as a paralegal specialist. She then became a county detective in 2009, “where she served our community with honor, dignity and respect before her untimely passing,” Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said in a statement.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy expressed he was “outraged and heartbroken by the murder” of Mosley.

“As a detective with the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, Sgt. Mosley served her community with distinction, working every day to ensure the safety and well-being of the people of Cumberland County,” he said in a statement. “This act of violence impacts our entire law enforcement community and all of New Jersey.”

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No arrests have been made or charges filed in the case, police said.

Multiple agencies are investigating the deadly shooting, including the State Police Major Crime Bureau, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bridgeton Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau.


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