Lacey Man Convicted Of Murder In Strangling Wife, Dumping Body: Report

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Lacey Township man who strangled his wife and dumped her body along a road in Monmouth County in 2022 has been convicted of murder, according to a report.

Jeremy B. Cruz, 53, was convicted by a Monmouth County jury after less than two hours of deliberations on Thursday, the Asbury Park Press reported.

The body of Dawn C. Cruz, 51, was found by a motorist about 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2022, who noticed a woman who appeared to have sustained severe injuries at the intersection of Asbury and Colonial avenues in Ocean Township, authorities said at the time.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.

Jeremy Cruz turned himself in at the Berkeley Township Police Department a short time later, authorities said.

It was later revealed that Cruz killed his wife during an argument as they were headed home after watching their oldest son's band play at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, the Press report said.

Cruz's defense attorney claimed he was too intoxicated to have made the deliberate decision to kill his wife, after having five beers over three hours at Asbury Lanes, but the prosecution argued he was in control enough to leave a tip on his bar tab and call Berkeley Township police and tell them he was turning himself in, the report said.