Man Admits Murdering Mother In Ocean County Apartment In 2013

An Ocean County man has pleaded guilty to murdering his mother in her home in June 2013, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced Tuesday.

Brian Cassidy, 43, of Lakewood, entered the guilty plea on Monday before Judge Wendel E. Daniels, admitting to killing Gail Conway, 61, in the home he shared with her, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

Lakewood police were called to 3C Sumac Court on June 25, 2013, after Conway’s work supervisor at a CVS Pharmacy called asking them to check on her, because Conway had not reported for work and was not answering her phone, Della Fave said.

When officers arrived at the apartment, no one answered. They went in and found a deceased female -- later identified as Conway -- lying on the bed, he said. Blood evidence and the condition of the body made it clear that Conway was the victim of a homicide, he said.

Detectives processing the murder scene observed a burgundy Nissan Sentra with a New Jersey registration YVG-82D parked unoccupied in the driveway of the residence. A check of the registration showed that it belonged to Conway’s son, Cassidy, who they later learned also lived there. They also learned that Conway’s vehicle, a gray 2013 Honda Civic, was missing, Della Fave said.

At approximately 5:29 p.m., Lakewood Police Detective Jason Pederson saw Conway’s Civic travelling on Lakewood-Allenwood Road in Howell Township, he said. The car turned into Deerwood Park and pulled into a parking space near the park hockey rink. A white male, who Detective Pederson identified as Cassidy, got out of the car and began to walk a dog near the wood line of the park. Pederson kept a visual on Cassidy until additional units arrived, Della Fave said. Cassidy was taken into custody without incident, he said.

With Cassidy in custody and a medical examiner’s report citing death due to head trauma, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lakewood Police Department were able to piece together events that led to Conway’s death and confirm Cassidy’s role in the murder, Della Fave said.

Cassidy is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6. He remains in jail in lieu of $1 million bail, where he has been since his arrest, Della Fave said.

Detectives Leroy Marshall of the Lakewood Police Department and Thomas Tiernan of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office were the lead detectives on the case. The Lakewood Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department all contributed to the investigation.