3 Men Found Guilty In Murder Of Red Bank Teacher

RED BANK, NJ — On Tuesday, a Monmouth County jury found all three men accused of the heinous crime guilty in the murder of Red Bank schoolteacher Jonelle Melton.

Melton, a 33-year-old social studies teacher at Red Bank Middle School, was killed on the night of Sept. 13, 2009 in her apartment in the Brighton Arms complex in Neptune City. Prosecutors say the stunning murder was a mistaken identity case, a would-be drug robbery orchestrated by a member of the Bloods gang in Asbury Park — except her killers broke into the wrong unit.

Ebenezer Byrd, 39, and Gregory A. Jean-Baptiste, 30, both of Asbury Park, and Jerry J. Spraulding, 41, of Keansburg, were each found guilty on all counts: First-degree felony murder, robbery, burglary and weapons charges. Additionally, Byrd and Jean-Baptiste were found guilty of witness tampering. Byrd and Spraulding were convicted of additional weapons offenses due to prior convictions involving a weapon.

The jury deliberated for two days after the nine-week trial.

A fourth man, James Fair, 29, of Asbury Park, already pleaded guilty in 2017 for orchestrating the burglary: Prosecutors say Fair told the other three men about a drug dealer who lived in the Brighton Arms complex, and told the men he kept cash in his freezer. The Asbury Park Press reports Fair is a leader of a sub-set of the Bloods in Asbury Park. In 2017, Fair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed burglary, telling the judge he told the other men about the dealer's apartment but that he was not with them the night of Sept. 13, 2009.

As Patch reported at the time, prosecutors say that when the three discovered Melton in the apartment, they killed her. She was brutally beaten, stabbed and shot to death.

Melton was found dead the next morning when a family member went to check on her when she failed to arrive at her job at Red Bank Middle School. That family member was her husband, from whom she was separate and living apart from at the time. Neptune City police received a 911 call from the family member at 9:07 a.m. that morning. The Brighton Arms complex is located at 311 West Sylvania Ave. in Neptune.

Officers and MONOC paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and pronounced her deceased.

Melton was preparing to teach fifth grade at Red Bank Middle School when she was killed. She was an active member of the school community; as a member of the School Improvement team, the Leadership Program at Red Bank Regional High School, and selected to serve as the student council adviser.

She was also an active member of the Christian Woman's Encouragement Group, and was scheduled to officially become a member of the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Lake Como during its annual Woman's Day celebration.

Each of the three men faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in state prison, during which time they would be ineligible for parole, and a maximum sentence of life in prison, where they would have to serve 85 percent of their term before parole.

When the men were charged with her murder, three of them were incarcerated.

Fair was awaiting trial on a 219-count indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder, robbery and numerous other drug and weapons offenses. He has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for those charges.

Byrd is currently serving a 12-year state prison sentence for two separate Asbury Park shootings that also occurred in 2009, and is being held in state prison in Trenton, according to Department of Corrections records.

And Jean-Baptiste is awaiting trial on three separate indictments charging him with drug distribution and gun possession and is being held at the Mercer County Correctional Institution, in Hopewell Township.

“Today, the jury has delivered another element of closure for Ms. Melton’s family, friends, her students and her community," said Monmouth County prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni. "I congratulate the assistant prosecutors, detectives and support staff who never let up on finding her killers and working so diligently to bring this successful verdict. I know we all worked very hard in memory of Ms. Melton’s passion for life and her commitment to so many people during her lifetime."

Prior Patch reporting: Trio Charged In Brutal 2009 Murder Of Red Bank Teacher