MONMOUTH COUNTY – A Jackson man is among three people charged in two murders that took place in 1994 and 1995, police said.
It started on Dec. 8, 1994 in a bedroom of a Prospect Street apartment in Long Branch. Ana Mejia, 24, was found dead from multiple stab wounds in the bedroom, partially clothed, with “white powdery substance” rubbed on her face, police said. Her two young children were in the home, and were physically unharmed.
Six months later, on May 14, 1995, police were dispatched to the Van Dyke Place home of Nicholas Connors, 51, of Long Branch who was found dead on a sofa from multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
These cases went without charges for 25 years until last week, police uncovered new evidence, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni. The police did not reveal what the new evidence was.
Jose R. Carrero, 48, of Jackson Township, Ted Connors, 47, Dolores Morgan, 66, both of Del Ray Beach, Florida, were each charged with two separate counts of first degree murder related to the deaths of Ana Mejia and Nicholas Connors, Gramiccioni said. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
These first degree murder charges each bring with them a sentence of between 30 years to life in prison, police said.
Carrero, who is still local, is being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township. Connors and Morgan are being held in the Palm Beach County Detention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida. They are expected to be extradicted to New Jersey.
The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Meghan Doyle, Director of the Cold Case Unit, and Assistant Prosecutor Noah Heck.
