Community Rallies To Overturn Judge's Ruling, Have Somerville Man Stand Trial For Murder

SOMERVILLE, NJ — A community is outraged after a judge ruled that David C. Shroitman, 27, of Somerville - accused of fatally stabbing anti-drug activist 27-year-old MaryRose Fealey 37 times in 2024 - was mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Now, authorities, MaryRose Fealey's family and friends, Somerville Mayor Brian Gallagher, and the community are coming together to try to overturn Somerset County Superior Judge Peter Tober's ruling from April 3.

"The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a Motion for Reconsideration with the trial judge who issued the ruling," said Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office(SCPO) Deputy Chief Frank Roman, with no further comment to Patch.

MaryRose Fealey's mother Janet Pizzelli told Patch that she believes Shroitman can stand trial and is mentally competent.

"He was working. He graduated business at Rutgers. And he had a full-time job and he had an apartment," said Pizzelli. "He got an apartment, like, five blocks from our house."

Pizzelli, who has triple-negative breast cancer, added that until there's a trial, she can't get her daughter's possessions back.

"They have her computer, her phone, all of her items. But if this takes years to go to trial, I can't have them back," said Pizzelli. "Now, as you know, this generation, everything is on their computer, their statements, their passwords to all their social media. And my daughter had a lot of artwork on her computer. I would like these things, and I would especially like them before I die, to be quite honest... It's really heartbreaking."

To try and get Tober's ruling overturned, Fealey's family and friends have launched a letter-writing campaign under the group name "100 Voices for Maryrose Fealey" to "demand action from the Somerset County Courts to ensure that MaryRose gets the justice that she deserves."

"Either way, my daughter is dead, but the real fear is that he gets out and does this to someone else, which I have no problem seeing happen," said Pizzelli.

At the Monday Council meeting, Gallagher said he received a "significant number of emails or letters. And they all were related to the tragedy that struck our community and struck a family… that was the tragedy of MaryRose."

"This is not an easy thing for this family to go through over and over again. And they are searching for justice. They are searching for a little bit of peace," said Gallagher. "Part of our job as a community is to give them that."

Gallagher said he spoke with SCPO John McDonald, who told him, "No stone will be left unturned in the pursuit of this justice."

Additionally, Gallagher said he will reach out to legislators to share the letters he received with them.

"It's very easy to craft legislation sitting in Trenton when you're removed from very horrible things," said Gallagher. "We need to ensure that our legislators understand the impact this has had on your family and this community, and I will work to make that happen."

Fealey's family is asking the community to continue to support them in their fight to overturn Tober's ruling and have Shroitman stand trial.

Anyone interested in the letter-writing campaign, which includes a pre-written letter to send to officials, can visit instagram.com/100voicesformaryrosefealey.

The Crime

On Jan. 30 at around 10:20 p.m., a 911 call reported an injured unresponsive woman located outside of a residential complex on North Bridge Street. Read More: Woman Found Fatally Stabbed Outside Somerville Housing Complex: Police

Somerville Officers found Fealey with multiple apparent stab wounds and began life-saving measures at the scene along with responding medical personnel, said McDonald.Fealey was pronounced dead at the scene.

A postmortem examination was performed on Feb. 1, 2024, by the Medical Examiner’s Office who positively identified the victim as Fealey and determined the cause of death as multiple stab wounds, 37 times, and ruled the manner of death as homicide.

On Feb. 4, investigators searched Shroitman's home, his vehicle and person where they found numerous bleach containers throughout the home, a manifesto laying out a plan step-by-step for the homicide, and the driver's door of the tan Toyota Camry was doused in bleach, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Read More: 37 Stab Wounds, A Manifesto Discovered: New Somerville Slaying Details

Shroitman was formally arrested and charged on Feb. 5, 2024. A motive has not been released, however, authorities did confirm that Shroitman knew Fealey. Shroitman graduated from Somerville High School with Fealey in 2014.

Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Gerard Tyrrell said in court in February 2024 that there was "no evidence of a romantic relationship" between Shroitman and Fealey.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com