South Jersey Woman Shot After Arranging Online Phone Sale: Police

WILLINGBORO, NJ - A 20-year-old Burlington County man has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a Camden County woman in Willingboro earlier this year, authorities announced.

Maribely Lopez, 21, of Lindenwold, intended to sell her used cell phone to a man she met online using the marketplace app OfferUp on March 6, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Willingboro Public Safety Director Kinamo Lomon.

She made arrangements to meet up with Marvin A. Coleman Jr., of Willingboro, at a vacant house on Medley Lane. The house is a short walk through a field from Coleman’s Marboro Lane home, police said.

Coleman ended up shooting Lopez through a partially opened driver’s side window, police said.
Her body was discovered by police the following morning when they responded to reports of a woman in a parked car suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

She was found in her Ford Focus with the engine still running, police said. She was pronounced deceased on the scene. An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood revealed that Lopez died from a single gunshot to the head.

Read more here: Manhunt After Lindenwold Woman Shot In Willingboro: Cops

It remains unknown why Coleman shot Lopez, and investigators said they found the phone that was to be sold inside the car. Investigators believe she was shot at about 11 p.m. the night before.

Coleman was arrested during a traffic stop near his home Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities. He has been charged with murder in the first-degree, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

A first appearance will be scheduled soon in Superior Court in Mount Holly. The case will then be prepared for presentation to a Burlington County Grand Jury.

“The evidence points to this murder occurring during a planned OfferUp transaction,” Coffina said. “People selling items online to strangers should exercise appropriate caution, such as utilizing safe transaction zones that many of our local police departments maintain in the parking lots of their stations.”