Body Found In Woods, Homicide Investigation Launched In Franklin

FRANKLIN, NJ — A dead body found in the woods in Franklin Township caused police to launch a homicide investigation on Wednesday.

At about 6:40 p.m. Franklin Township Police found numerous people near a a home on Park Street who said they found a body in a wooded area nearby, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said.

Officers found the dead body of an adult African American man believed to be a resident of Park Street, Robertson said.

Detectives from the Franklin Township Police Department, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit, and Investigator’s from the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office responded and launched a homicide investigation.

An autopsy is scheduled to find out the cause and manner of death, and identify who the man is.

Anyone with information relating to the homicide is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

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

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