Police Identify Body Found In Woods In Franklin

FRANKLIN, NJ — Authorities have identified a man's dead body found in the woods in Franklin last Wednesday.

Duane S. Banks, 27, of Park Street in Franklin Township was identified as the victim, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives John W. Fodor and Franklin Township Public Safety Director Quovella Spruill.

On April 29 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, 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 performed by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the victim as Banks.

Banks' death has been ruled a homicide. Preliminary investigation found Banks was the intended victim. No further information is being released to the public at this time in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the on-going homicide investigation, Robertson said.

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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