Crime & Justice
New Jersey Woman Convicted Of Strangling Girlfriend To Death With Electrical Cord Then Burying Her Body
A 38-year-old New Jersey woman was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, weapons offenses and other crimes in the savage killing of her girlfriend nearly six years ago, prosecutors said.
Jennifer Sweeney has been found guilty of murder for strangling her girlfriend with an electrical cord and burying her body in a shallow grave, months after arranging to have her shot multiple times in a failed bid to kill her out of jealousy.
Jennifer Sweeney found guilty
A Monmouth County jury convicted 38-year-old Sweeney, from Tinton Falls, on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, three related weapons offenses, second-degree desecration of human remains, and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence in connection with the brutal killing of Tyrita Julius.
This true crime story all unfolded on November 24, 2015 when officers from the Linden Police Department were called to a home in the 900 block of Middlesex Street in Linden on a report of a shooting.
Responding officers found Tyrita Julius, 41, who had been shot eight times, sitting in her car, which had crashed into a utility pole not far from her home, reported ABC 7 NY.
The woman’s 15-year-old daughter was seated in the front passenger seat of the car, having also sustained a gunshot wound.
Julius and her daughter were hospitalized and eventually recovered from their injuries.
The investigation into the shooting was still in progress when on March 9, 2016, Julius’ mother reported her missing.
Authorities learned that the night before, Julius had been with a woman, described as a friend from Tinton Falls, but failed to return home.
That friend was later identified as Jennifer Sweeney, whom Julius had met through a motorcycle club.
While Julius was recovering from being shot, Sweeney visited her in the hospital.
Six months after Tyrita Julius was reported missing, her body was discovered buried in a shallow grave at a home on Joline Avenue in Long Branch, N.J.
Julius had been strangled with an electrical cord and wrapped in two garbage bags, according to the authorities.
During the course of a multi-agency investigation, detectives determined that Andre Harris, 37, was the gunman who shot Julius and her daughter in 2015 and that Sweeney set up the hit on her.
Jennifer Sweeney and Andre Harris Charged
Sweeney and Harris were arrested in August 2016 and charged in connection with Julius’ murder and failed attempted murder.
Harris later reached a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for a 16-year sentence in state prison and agreed to give testimony against Sweeney.
During Sweeney’s murder trial, Harris testified that the defendant was a ‘jealous lover’ who suspected Julius of cheating on her. He also called her ‘psychotic.’
Harris said Sweeney told him; ‘If I can’t have her, no one can.’
Harris accused Sweeney, whom he knew from high school, of threatening his life and the lives of his children if he did not shoot Julius with the gun she had given him.
Six months after the failed murder attempt, Harris said Sweeney drove to his house in Long Branch with Julius dead in her Jeep Cherokee, and forced him at gunpoint to help her dispose of the woman’s body.
Sentence
Jennifer Sweeney faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19.
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Crime & Justice
Arrests made for fatal shooting at Delaware State University
Camay Mitchell De Silva was shot and killed on April 21 while visiting her best friend at Delaware State University.
Authorities have announced arrests have been made for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Camay Mitchell De Silva last month at Delaware State University.
Arrests made in Delaware State shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva
De Silva was shot and killed by a stray bullet on April 21 while visiting her best friend who attended Delaware State University.
Police announced in a press release that 20-year-old Destry Jones and 18-year-old Damien Hinson, both from Dover, are being charged with the murder of Camay Mitchell De Silva.
The pair are also charged with the attempted murder of two other young men in connection with the April 21 shooting.
Jones was arrested in Brooklyn, New York and Hinson was arrested later that day in Dover, police said.
According to authorities, neither of the suspects in this case are enrolled at or affiliated with Delaware State University.
Police claimed Jones and Hinson were involved in a fight with two other men before shots were fired. Investigators do not believe De Silva was the intended target or involved in the altercation.
Beloved taken too soon
De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.
She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.
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Crime & Justice
Paramedic involved in Elijah McClain’s death sentenced to probation, work release and community service
Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.
Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.
Paramedic Jeremy Cooper sentenced
He had faced up to three years in prison but was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service.
Cooper and another paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December in the death of McClain, 23, who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine on August 24, 2019.
Both paramedics had pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison, the minimum.
Police stop turns fatal
McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him. When Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived, they injected him with ketamine.
He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.
The McClain family sued the city of Aurora for Elijah’s wrongful death and received a $15 million settlement.
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Crime & Justice
Honor student killed by stray bullet while visiting Delaware State University
A shooting at Delaware State University has claimed the life of 18-year-old honor student Camay Mitchell De Silva.
Camay Mitchell De Silva, of Wilmington, Delaware, was shot and killed Sunday, on the Delaware State University campus.
The 18-year-old was visiting her best friend, a Delaware State student, when the tragic shooting occurred.
She was an honor student
De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.
She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.
De Silva often hung out on campus with her best friend to get comfortable before attending DSU.
Delaware State shooting
The family said De Silva was visiting that friend at DSU on Saturday, April 20, and attended a party on campus that night. Around 1:40 a.m. on April 21, DSU Police received a report of shots fired on campus. The responding officers found De Silva in a residence hall suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. The officers administered aid and then took her to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Police say De Silva was not the intended target. Dover Police Department Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. told NBC10 there was a dispute that she was not involved in and she was hit by a stray bullet.
The suspects were seen fleeing the area and no arrests have been made, said authorities.
Dover Police released a statement from De Silva’s family requesting time to grieve and to plan for her celebration of life.
They also said they pray for and support the DSU community, law enforcement and the local community as they are “forced to manage this tragedy.”
Delaware State shooting investigation
Dover Police are still pursuing leads in the fatal shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva.
Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 302-736-7130 or reach out to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-TIP-3333.
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