New Jersey

Murder Victim Found With Hacked Face in Middle of Quiet New Jersey Road: Source, Witness

A law enforcement source says there's evidence to indicate the victim may have jumped out of the vehicle, then been caught and killed by attackers

What to Know

  • A man was found dead in the middle of a road in a heavily wooded area in New Jersey's Monmouth County early Friday, authorities say
  • Law enforcement swarmed the scene after patrolling officers made the discovery on Hurley Pond Road around 3:15 a.m.
  • A law enforcement source says there's evidence to indicate victim may have jumped out of vehicle, then been caught and killed by attackers

A man possibly trying to escape attackers jumped out of a car and tried to run on a New Jersey street, then apparently was caught and murdered, his body left in the middle of the road, a law enforcement source familiar with the case tells News 4.

A person passing through the area came upon the grisly scene on Howell's Hurley Pond Road around 3:15 a.m. Friday. Responding officers initially thought the dead man was a hit-and-run victim, the law-enforcement source said. 

The man, thought to be in his 20s, appeared to have had his face hacked, a witness reported. The body had significant trauma. 

The area was shut down for hours as authorities investigated.

Eerily, the body was found less than a mile away from where a short film is being produced about a vigilante serial killer.

The investigation is ongoing. 

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