Accused Killer Of N.J. College Student Charged With 2nd Murder

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The accused killer of Montclair college student Sarah Butler has been charged with a second murder in Essex County, authorities say.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, 20, of Orange, has been charged with the murdering Joanne Brown, 33. Police found Brown in a vacant home on Highland Avenue in Orange around 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 5 after receiving a report of an “unresponsive person” at that location.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force and the Orange Police Department launched an investigation after discovering Brown’s body, which led to eventual charges against Wheeler-Weaver, who is also accused of murdering 20-year-old college student Sarah Butler.

Prosecutors are charging that Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, 20, strangled Butler and dumped her body in a wooded section of Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange.

Police arrested Wheeler-Weaver on Dec. 6.

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Wheeler-Weaver pleaded not guilty to killing Butler during an appearance in Essex County Superior Court on Dec. 13 and was assigned a $1 million bail.

Authorities charged Wheeler-Weaver with the additional murder on Friday. He is now being held in lieu of $5 million bail.

Prosecutors said that the two murders shared similarities; both Brown and Butler were reported missing and later discovered strangled.

Photo: Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, via Essex County Prosecutor's Office