'Please Be Maryrose's Voice': Mom Of NJ Woman Fatally Stabbed 37 Times Asks For Support

SOMERVILLE, NJ — The mother of 27-year-old Maryrose Fealey, who was fatally stabbed 37 times in Somerville, is calling on the community for support.

"We need your HELP," said Fealey's mother Janet Mary Pizzelli. "The Prosecutor's Office requests/needs a FULL COURTROOM."

A court hearing will be held on Tuesday to determine if David C. Shroitman, 27, of Somerville - accused of fatally stabbing MaryRose Fealey - is mentally competent to stand trial, said Pizzelli.

"My daughter Maryrose Fealey was murdered by David Shroitman in January 2024. He has been on a 'waiting list' for three months to be examined at Anne Klein for competency to stand trial. We want the judge to rethink his decision of incompetence in order to move this murder trial forward," said Pizzelli. "Please be Maryrose's voice."

The hearing will be held before Somerset County Judge Peter Tober at 9 a.m. in the Somerset County Courthouse, 20 N Bridge St., Somerville. (The courtroom is on the 5th floor, make a right coming off the elevator.)

Court proceedings against Shroitman were suspended after Tober ruled on April 3 that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Tober committed Shroitman to the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Health where he is confined at Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton and undergoing treatment.

Pizzelli previously told Patch that she believes Shroitman can stand trial and is mentally competent.

"He was working. He graduated business at Rutgers. And he had a full-time job and he had an apartment," said Pizzelli in May. "He got an apartment, like, five blocks from our house."

Pizzelli, who has triple-negative breast cancer, added that until there's a trial, she can't get her daughter's possessions back.

"They have her computer, her phone, all of her items. But if this takes years to go to trial, I can't have them back," said Pizzelli. "Now, as you know, this generation, everything is on their computer, their statements, their passwords to all their social media. And my daughter had a lot of artwork on her computer. I would like these things, and I would especially like them before I die, to be quite honest... It's really heartbreaking."

Since Tober's ruling, Fealey's family and friends have launched a letter-writing campaign under the group name "100 Voices for Maryrose Fealey" to "demand action from the Somerset County Courts to ensure that MaryRose gets the justice that she deserves."

"Please keep your letters going. Thank you all for your support for my daughter Maryrose," said Pizzelli.

Anyone interested in the letter-writing campaign, which includes a pre-written letter to send to officials, can visit instagram.com/100voicesformaryrosefealey.

The Crime

On Jan. 30, 2024, at around 10:20 p.m., a 911 call reported an injured, unresponsive woman outside of a residential complex on North Bridge Street. Read More: Woman Found Fatally Stabbed Outside Somerville Housing Complex: Police

Somerville Officers found Fealey with multiple apparent stab wounds and began life-saving measures at the scene along with responding medical personnel, said McDonald.Fealey was pronounced dead at the scene.

A postmortem examination was performed on Feb. 1, 2024, by the Medical Examiner’s Office, which identified the victim as Fealey and determined the cause of death as multiple stab wounds (37).

On Feb. 4, investigators searched Shroitman's home and car, where they found numerous bleach containers throughout the home, a manifesto laying out a plan step-by-step for the homicide, and the driver's door of the tan Toyota Camry was doused in bleach, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Read More: 37 Stab Wounds, A Manifesto Discovered: New Somerville Slaying Details

Shroitman was formally arrested and charged on Feb. 5, 2024. A motive has not been released, however, authorities did confirm that Shroitman knew Fealey. Shroitman graduated from Somerville High School with Fealey in 2014.

Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Gerard Tyrrell said in court in February 2024 that there was "no evidence of a romantic relationship" between Shroitman and Fealey.

Previous Reporting:

• 37 Stab Wounds, A Manifesto Discovered: New Somerville Slaying Details
• Who Is David Shroitman: Man Charged In Fatal Somerville Stabbing
• Man Accused Of Fatally Stabbing Somerville Woman 37 Times May Not Stand Trial
• Community Rallies To Overturn Judge's Ruling, Have Somerville Man Stand Trial For Murder
• Bridgewater Mayor 'Deeply Troubled' Over Somerville Murder Case Court Ruling

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