Man Charged In Deadly Seaside Heights Assault

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Seaside Heights man has been charged with manslaughter after he punched a man, causing him to hit his head on the ground in September, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday.

Anthony P. Collins, 40, turned himself in to Seaside Heights Police Headquarters on Sunday on charges filed Oct. 4 in the death of Robert May, 70, of Seaside Heights, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

May was found injured, lying on the ground next to his bicycle at Central Avenue and Sumner Avenue about 4 p.m. on Sept. 18, the prosecutor's office said. May had a cut on his head and was bleeding and was treated at the scene but refused further medical assistance, authorities said.

Investigators learned May had been assaulted by another person, which caused him to fall off his bicycle and hit his head on the pavement, Billhimer said.

About an hour after the first call on Sept. 18, Seaside Heights police were told May had been acting erratically after the fall and was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River by the Tri-Boro First Aid Squad.

May’s condition continued to deteriorate and he was transferred to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he succumbed to his injuries on Oct. 1, authorities said.

An autopsy that day by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office May died of blunt force injury resulting from the assault in Seaside Heights, Billhimer said.

Investigators determined Collins was the person who assaulted May on Sept. 18, resulting in May's death, the prosecutor said.

Collins was charged Oct. 4 with manslaughter and endangering an injured victim, and a warrant was issued for Collins’ arrest, Billhimer said. Collins' name was entered in the National Crime Information Center database.

Collins is being held at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River pending a detention hearing.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Seaside Heights Police Department, Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, and United States Marshals Service collaborated on the investigation.