FREEHOLD, NJ – Jeremy B. Cruz of Forked River has been found guilty of fatally strangling his wife after an argument and leaving her body on the side of a road in Ocean Township about a year and a half ago. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced the conviction on Friday.
A jury convicted 53-year-old Cruz following a trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley.
The victim, 51-year-old Dawn C. Cruz, was found with severe injuries by a concerned motorist on Colonial Avenue, near Asbury Avenue, around 1 a.m. on a Sunday, back in October 2022. Ocean Township Police located her and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Jeremy Cruz turned himself in to authorities at Berkeley Township Police Department headquarters in Ocean County around the same time the victim was discovered. A joint investigation led to a first-degree Murder charge against Cruz.
Cruz was indicted in January 2023 and the State disproved his intoxication defense during the trial, leading to the conviction.
Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14, before Judge O’Malley, where Cruz could face life in state prison.