Missing Essex County Man Found Murdered In North Carolina

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Authorities say that a missing Essex County man found murdered in North Carolina on Monday may have been in the area on a business trip.

According to the Greensboro Police Department, their counterparts at the Newark Police Department entered Bangaly Fofana, 24, of East Orange, as a missing person in a national database on Dec. 3 after he disappeared from New Jersey.

Detectives believe Fofana may have been traveling to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a possible business venture, police said.

A survey crew discovered Fofana’s remains around 3:45 p.m. on Monday in an overgrown area at the old Cone Mills property, behind a vacant building at 1700 Fairview Street, police said.

Preliminary autopsy results provided by the State Medical Examiners’ office on Wednesday identified Fofana as the deceased. The examination also indicated that manner of death was homicide, police said.

Authorities are withholding the cause of death “in order to assist with identifying the person or persons responsible for the homicide,” police said.

An investigation is ongoing between the Greensboro Police Department and the Newark Police Department. Anyone with information about this case can contact Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000 or text the tip to 274637 using the keyword “badboyz.” Information may result in a reward up to $2,000.

Photo: Greensboro Police Department