2 Bodies Found In Lake At Weequahic Park In Newark (UPDATED)

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ – Authorities recovered the bodies of an unidentified man and woman from a lake in Weequahic Park in Newark on Saturday, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said that officers received a call about a possible body floating in a lake of the county-run park around 11 a.m. Sheriff’s officers and the Newark Fire Department responded to the area and found the body of an unidentified woman in the water.

First responders removed the woman’s body from the lake. She was pronounced dead at 11:25 a.m., prosecutors said.

When detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Task Force arrived at the park to investigate, they found another body floating in a separate section while canvassing the park and lake area. With the assistance of the Newark Fire Department and sheriff’s officers, authorities recovered the body of an unidentified man, who was pronounced dead at 3:03 p.m.

The cause and manner of death of both individuals will be determined by autopsies, which will be performed at the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, prosecutors said.

“At this time, these incidents do not appear to be related,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly said Saturday.

Both incidents are being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Task Force and the investigation is active an ongoing. Anyone with information can call the Prosecutor's Tips Line at (877) 847-7432.

UPDATE: MARCH 6

The Newark Public Safety Department issued the following update on March 6.

"Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose reports that the cause of deaths regarding two bodies discovered in the lake at Weequahic Park on Saturday, March 3, 2018 are not currently considered as homicides and are pending toxicology results. At approximately 11 a.m., members of the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and Newark Fire Division responded to the lake and removed the bodies of a deceased female and male. The woman was pronounced at 11:25 a.m. and the man was pronounced at 3:03 p.m. At this early juncture in the investigation, there is no evidence that these two incidents are related. The cause and manner of each death will be determined by autopsies to be performed by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office."

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