Camping Trip Argument Ends With NJ Man Torching Girlfriend, Leaving Her For Dead, Affidavit Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — It was supposed to be a camping trip in the Pinelands.

It ended with a woman being intubated and flown to a burn center after she was put in a fire by her boyfriend, according to court documents. And the boyfriend wasn't the only man present during the attack, the records show.

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Justin D. Martin, 36, of Saddle Brook, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated arson in the Oct. 15 incident in the Colliers Mills area in Plumsted, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

A man who was working in the woods called 911 at 1:36 p.m. after the woman approached him and asked him to call for help. She told the man her boyfriend had tried to kill her and burn her, then got in a Chrysler 200 driven by a second man and they left, according to the affidavit.

The woman, who was conscious when law enforcement and emergency medical services arrived, gave them Martin's name and the second man's name, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit does not say how badly the woman was burned, how she was burned, or how far or how long she had walked for help. In announcing Martin's arrest, the prosecutor's office said she suffered smoke inhalation

Authorities searched for the car, which belonged to Martin, and it was seen on surveillance video in Asbury Park about 4 p.m. Photos of the car showed it had been driven in a sandy environment, the affidavit said.

The woman's mother told authorities the woman and Martin had been dating for several months and there had been incidents between them where Martin had been "verbally abusive and has thrown things" at the victim, according to the affidavit. The mother also said Martin had kicked the woman out of his car at the Freehold Raceway Mall recently; a passerby helped her get a rideshare ride to her mother's home, according to the affidavit.

On the day of the attack, the woman stopped at her mother's house about 9 a.m. to pick up supplies to go camping, but did not give her mother information on where the couple was going camping, the affidavit said.

The affidavit does not give details on what happened between 9 a.m. when the woman left her mother's home and when she was found walking in the woods. The mother told authorities that Martin had called her and said he and the woman had an argument and he left.

The mother received that call not long before getting a call from emergency medical services saying her daughter was seriously injured, the affidavit said.

Later in the evening of Oct. 15, authorities found the car, which belonged to Martin, in Asbury Park. Martin was in the car along with the man who had been driving it at the time they left the woods in Plumsted, and a woman. All three were arrested on unrelated charges.

Detectives tried to interview Martin but he refused to speak and requested an attorney, the affidavit said.

The second man who was with Martin in the woods told detectives he wasn't sure what happened in the woods because he was asleep in the back seat the entire day, according to the affidavit.

"The interview was terminated due to (the man's) lack of cooperation," the affidavit said. Patch is not identifying the man because he has not been charged in the case.

The woman who was with Martin and the other man in Asbury Park also has not been charged; she told authorities she was not aware of any incident earlier in the day.

Martin was arrested on Oct. 16 and taken to the Ocean County Jail but has since been released, according to jail records.