(no subject)
its official. shes dead. he did it. im heading out to nj sometime next week for the funeral.
Son held in mom's murder
Friday, March 31, 2006
By Pete McCarthy
pmccarthy@sjnewsco.com
WOODBURY -- Prosecutors related Thursday how 30-year-old Benjamin Martin clubbed and strangled his mother, Nancy, to death during an argument over a messy house on March 10 and how he lived with the body for four days before driving her nine miles in the pre-dawn hours to drop her at an abandoned property in Monroe Township.
A phone call from a family member Wednesday night indicating Martin wanted authorities to know where his mother was located, eventually closed the 10-day-old missing person case, Prosecutor Sean Dalton announced on Thursday.
At 10:48 p.m. Wednesday the body of Mrs. Martin, 51, was recovered in brush near the detached garage of a vacant property at 951 Clayton Road in Monroe Township -- the place her son allegedly took her remains two weeks earlier.
Authorities do not know why Martin picked the particular location to conceal his mother's death "other than because it was secluded," Dalton said.
Benjamin Martin has been charged with first-degree murder and is in the Gloucester County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
At a news conference on Thursday, Pitman Police Chief Scott Campbell called it "a tragic end to a life."
A search last week of the Martins' Columbia Avenue home revealed "significant" physical evidence including a "substantial amount of blood," Dalton said.
He said blood was also found on the bumper and in the trunk of Mrs. Martin's rental car. The vehicle was recovered on March 21 in a parking lot near a Firestone Tire and Service store on the Black Horse Pike.
Security videos obtained from two businesses near where Martin allegedly left his mother's rental car on the Black Horse Pike after disposing of her body, placed the defendant in that area.
Even though it took Martin's help to locate his mother's body, authorities indicated they had a case against the son.
After police began their investigation, Martin stayed with his brother in Mercer County.
Police did not shut off communication with him during that time.
Twice, when being interviewed by local law enforcement, the suspect denied any knowledge of his mother's disappearance.
The prosecutor said that on Sunday, local law enforcement officials met with the victim's other sons, along with other relatives, and shared with them details of the investigation -- including the fact that Benjamin Martin was at the center of it.
"After the conversation, there was a sense of remorse," Dalton said. "Family members impressed upon him if he was responsible, he needed to do the right thing."
Neighbors in the Pitman community where Martin was allegedly slain expressed disbelief Thursday when they learned what had happened.
"She was a very friendly lady who always took time to say hello," said a next-door neighbor who did not wish to be identified. "I don't know ... It's very sad."
The neighbor recalled seeing Mrs. Martin at Christmas.
For the past two weeks, many on the quiet street said they have been worried -- knowing their neighbor's disappearance was considered "suspicious" by authorities.
She and other neighbors said they hardly saw Benjamin.
"I barely know him," she said. "I just know him as the person who lived next door. I saw him here and there -- coming and going."
The first time Tom King met Benjamin was when there was fire at a neighboring house on March 2.
King, who moved with his family from Philadelphia to Pitman two years ago, said he did not even know Benjamin had been living there, even though authorities believe the son had been staying at the home for roughly six months.
"I'm just really upset about this," King said. "It's scaring everybody in the neighborhood."
Working as a fund-raiser for Southern Illinois University in Carbondale since September, Nancy Martin had returned on March 10 to the Colonial Avenue home where her unemployed son had been staying.
She reportedly flew into Philadelphia International Airport, rented a car and drove to the home.
Mrs. Martin was also in the area to meet with potential donors, but exactly who she was going to meet and where remained confidential, a university spokeswoman said.
She was due back at the university March 19.
When she did not return, officials in Illinois reported the mother of three missing. On that same day, Benjamin Martin reported his mother missing to Pitman Police.
Mrs. Martin developed a career working at five different United Ways, including the United Way of Gloucester County. The agency recruited the Illinois resident as its executive director in 2001.
She returned to her alma mater in September -- nearly 30 years after graduating with a radio-television degree.
"On behalf of the Southern Illinois Carbondale family, we offer our condolences to those who knew and loved our colleague Nancy Martin," SIU Department of Public Safety Director Todd Sigler said. "We extend our deepest sympathy to those who are struggling with this tragedy."
Mrs. Martin was described by Sigler as a "very special individual."
If convicted, the defendant faces 30 years to life in prison. Additional charges are pending completion of the investigation.
^aunt nancy^
^cousin ben^
Son held in mom's murder
Friday, March 31, 2006
By Pete McCarthy
pmccarthy@sjnewsco.com
WOODBURY -- Prosecutors related Thursday how 30-year-old Benjamin Martin clubbed and strangled his mother, Nancy, to death during an argument over a messy house on March 10 and how he lived with the body for four days before driving her nine miles in the pre-dawn hours to drop her at an abandoned property in Monroe Township.
A phone call from a family member Wednesday night indicating Martin wanted authorities to know where his mother was located, eventually closed the 10-day-old missing person case, Prosecutor Sean Dalton announced on Thursday.
At 10:48 p.m. Wednesday the body of Mrs. Martin, 51, was recovered in brush near the detached garage of a vacant property at 951 Clayton Road in Monroe Township -- the place her son allegedly took her remains two weeks earlier.
Authorities do not know why Martin picked the particular location to conceal his mother's death "other than because it was secluded," Dalton said.
Benjamin Martin has been charged with first-degree murder and is in the Gloucester County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
At a news conference on Thursday, Pitman Police Chief Scott Campbell called it "a tragic end to a life."
A search last week of the Martins' Columbia Avenue home revealed "significant" physical evidence including a "substantial amount of blood," Dalton said.
He said blood was also found on the bumper and in the trunk of Mrs. Martin's rental car. The vehicle was recovered on March 21 in a parking lot near a Firestone Tire and Service store on the Black Horse Pike.
Security videos obtained from two businesses near where Martin allegedly left his mother's rental car on the Black Horse Pike after disposing of her body, placed the defendant in that area.
Even though it took Martin's help to locate his mother's body, authorities indicated they had a case against the son.
After police began their investigation, Martin stayed with his brother in Mercer County.
Police did not shut off communication with him during that time.
Twice, when being interviewed by local law enforcement, the suspect denied any knowledge of his mother's disappearance.
The prosecutor said that on Sunday, local law enforcement officials met with the victim's other sons, along with other relatives, and shared with them details of the investigation -- including the fact that Benjamin Martin was at the center of it.
"After the conversation, there was a sense of remorse," Dalton said. "Family members impressed upon him if he was responsible, he needed to do the right thing."
Neighbors in the Pitman community where Martin was allegedly slain expressed disbelief Thursday when they learned what had happened.
"She was a very friendly lady who always took time to say hello," said a next-door neighbor who did not wish to be identified. "I don't know ... It's very sad."
The neighbor recalled seeing Mrs. Martin at Christmas.
For the past two weeks, many on the quiet street said they have been worried -- knowing their neighbor's disappearance was considered "suspicious" by authorities.
She and other neighbors said they hardly saw Benjamin.
"I barely know him," she said. "I just know him as the person who lived next door. I saw him here and there -- coming and going."
The first time Tom King met Benjamin was when there was fire at a neighboring house on March 2.
King, who moved with his family from Philadelphia to Pitman two years ago, said he did not even know Benjamin had been living there, even though authorities believe the son had been staying at the home for roughly six months.
"I'm just really upset about this," King said. "It's scaring everybody in the neighborhood."
Working as a fund-raiser for Southern Illinois University in Carbondale since September, Nancy Martin had returned on March 10 to the Colonial Avenue home where her unemployed son had been staying.
She reportedly flew into Philadelphia International Airport, rented a car and drove to the home.
Mrs. Martin was also in the area to meet with potential donors, but exactly who she was going to meet and where remained confidential, a university spokeswoman said.
She was due back at the university March 19.
When she did not return, officials in Illinois reported the mother of three missing. On that same day, Benjamin Martin reported his mother missing to Pitman Police.
Mrs. Martin developed a career working at five different United Ways, including the United Way of Gloucester County. The agency recruited the Illinois resident as its executive director in 2001.
She returned to her alma mater in September -- nearly 30 years after graduating with a radio-television degree.
"On behalf of the Southern Illinois Carbondale family, we offer our condolences to those who knew and loved our colleague Nancy Martin," SIU Department of Public Safety Director Todd Sigler said. "We extend our deepest sympathy to those who are struggling with this tragedy."
Mrs. Martin was described by Sigler as a "very special individual."
If convicted, the defendant faces 30 years to life in prison. Additional charges are pending completion of the investigation.
^aunt nancy^
^cousin ben^