Essex County Man Charged With Arson, Murder After Fatal Fire

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Authorities have charged a 47-year-old Essex County man with murder and arson in connection with a fatal fire that took place on Tuesday.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, police arrested Harold Greene, Jr., 47, of Newark, and charged him with the murder of Paul Hook, 56, also of Newark.

Prosecutors said that firefighters arrived at the scene of a blaze in a basement on the 700 block of Clinton Avenue around 7:51 p.m. While putting the fire out, they found an “unresponsive” man later identified as Hook.

Emergency responders transported Hook to Saint Barnabas Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:39 p.m. on Wednesday.

Essex County prosecutors said that members of the agency’s Homicide Task Force responded to the scene because the preliminary investigation “indicated an accelerate may have been used to start the fire.”

On Thursday, authorities charged Greene with murder, aggravated arson, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

An investigation is active an ongoing. Anyone with information can contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

File Photo: Wikimedia Commons