New Jersey photo journalist dies six months after injuries sustained in racially motivated assault

Jerry Wolkowitz, a longtime New Jersey freelance photo journalist who was brutally beaten in what authorities are calling a racially targeted attack, has died reports NJ.com.

Jerry Wolkowitz has died

Wolkowitz, 56, was clinging to life in a hospital and thereafter in a care center, before passing away.

Prosecutors say on May 1 he was brutally beaten and then ran over in the parking lot of his Freehold, NJ apartment complex.

Wolkowitz worked as an EMT and was a longtime member of the Freehold First Aid Squad. He was also a freelance photo journalist.

Arrest made

Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office arrested Jamil Hubbard, 25, of Sayreville, and charged him with first-degree attempted murder, possession of a weapon (a motor vehicle) for an unlawful purpose and bias intimidation, a first-degree offense.

Hubbard remains held at the Monmouth County jail. He was indicted in July.

Following his death, Wolkowitz’s body was taken to the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office, which handles Monmouth County cases, for an autopsy.

Authorities say they are not releasing any more information at this time.

What happened to Jerry Wolkowitz?

Police found Wolkowitz shortly after 7 a.m. on May 1 lying in the parking lot of his apartment complex on Harding Road in Freehold.

NJ.com Reports:

On May 1st, police found Wolkowitz shortly after 7 a.m. on lying in the parking lot of his apartment complex on Harding Road in Freehold.

Authorities learned that Hubbard approach Wolkowitz from behind, punched him in the back of the head and then dragged him in the parking lot, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

Hubbard then drove over Wolkowitz with his car, authorities said.

They said Hubbard stole Wolkowitz’s car, leaving his own behind. The stolen vehicle was found abandoned in Sayreville, NJ.

The two did not know each other prior to the attack, authorities said.

“The investigation determined that the defendant targeted the victim because of his race,” Swendeman said.

Career

Wolkowitz was a freelance photo journalist for various news publications in central New Jersey, most notably the Asbury Park Press. He was also a member of the Freehold First Aid Squad for over 25 years.