Trio Fatally Beat Woman, Left Her In Trunk: Passaic Co. Prosecutor

PATERSON, NJ — Three Totowa residents killed a woman, who authorities found Friday in a trunk in Paterson, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office. The trio was charged with the murder of Stephanie DeJesus.

Justin Fisher, Ali Gibson and Joelle Martucci were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder — both first-degree crimes.

Paterson police went to James Street and Ryerson Avenue just before 8 a.m. Friday in response to a suspicious vehicle. They found DeJesus dead inside the trunk, according to the prosecutor's office.

Authorities first thought the 38-year-old Paterson woman died from a gunshot wound. But following an autopsy, the medical examiner determined she died from blunt force trauma, the prosecutor's office said.

Subsequent investigation found Fisher, Gibson and Martucci responsible for the murder of DeJesus, authorities said. Martucci was arrested without incident Monday at Paterson Police Headquarters, and Fisher and Gibson surrendered to Tuesday to the Passaic County Sheriff's Office.

All were detained in the Passaic County Jail. The state filed motions for pretrial detention, which a Superior Court judge will hear.

DeJesus lived in Paterson all her life and worked as a cardiovascular technician for St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, according to her obituary.

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