Worker Fatally Stabbed, Run Over At NJ Rest Stop; Suspect Nabbed

HAMILTON, NJ - A Mercer County man is accused of fatally stabbing a woman in a New Jersey Turnpike Service Area employee parking lot and then running her over with his vehicle, state police said.

Dandre L. McDaniels Jr., 23, of Trenton, was charged with murder and related offenses in connection with the slaying at the Woodrow Wilson Service Area in Hamilton Township on Thursday, New Jersey State Police said in statement. McDaniels is lodged in the Mercer County Correctional Center pending a court appearance.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Thursday, troopers from Troop “D” Moorestown Station responded to the report of a woman lying on the ground in the Woodrow Wilson Service Area employee parking lot, state police said.

The victim, who was later identified as Jamyra C. Odom, 22, of Trenton, was pronounced dead at the scene. She sustained “serious” injuries, police said.

An investigation from the New Jersey State Police Major Crime South Unit and Troop “D” Criminal Investigation Office identified a white SUV as a potential suspect vehicle, state police said.

A vehicle matching the description was found parked in front of Capital Health Systems Fuld Campus in Trenton, and McDaniels Jr. was found inside the emergency room receiving treatment for wounds to his hands, police said.

As a result of the investigation, state police concluded McDaniels Jr. stabbed Odom several times after she exited the service area Burger King, where she was working a scheduled shift; McDaniels Jr. then struck her with the vehicle as he fled the scene, state police said.

It’s also believed McDaniels Jr. and Odom knew each other before the incident, state police said.