Elizabeth Man Accused of Beating Woman, Dumping Body in Raritan Center

RARITAN CENTER, NJ - An Elizabeth man was arrested Friday and charged with beating a 30-year-old Newark woman and abandoning her in Raritan Center in Edison, leaving her for dead, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said. Mickey Vanderpool, 61, of Elizabeth, was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and endangering an injured victim.

The incident happened in June of this year, the prosecutor said. Vanderpool met the woman in Newark and beat her sometime in June 2016, police said. The investigation showed Vanderpool repeatedly struck the woman about the head and body and abandoned her at Raritan Center in Edison, leaving her for dead. After a day or more, the woman wandered around the industrial complex before she saw a utility worker and asked for help. Police were called to the scene.

The woman was taken to JFK Medical Center in Edison, where she was treated and released.

Vanderpool remains in custody and is waiting for bail to be set. The case is being investigated by Detective Joseph Kenney of the Edison Police Department and Sgt. Wayne Canastra of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.