NJ man convicted of strangling wife, leaving her for dead on roadside
A 53-year-old New Jersey man was convicted this week of strangling his wife and leaving her for dead along the side of a Monmouth County road.
Prosecutors said Jeremy Cruz, of Forked River, choked 51-year-old Dawn Cruz during an argument, then dumped her near an intersection at Colonial and Asbury avenues on Oct. 30, 2022.
A concerned motorist spotted the woman, who appeared to have sustained severe injuries, and called police. Ocean Township Police Department pronounced the victim dead on the scene.
Cruz turned himself in to authorities shortly after dumping his wife’s body, law enforcement said. He allegedly claimed he was drunk at the time of the incident.
“The State disproved the defendant’s intoxication defense, leading to the conviction,” Monmouth County Prosecutors said in a press release announcing the verdict Friday.
“This conviction happened to coincide with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and it’s difficult to conceive of a crime more senseless, or a victim more deserving of justice, than a person killed by their spouse over nothing more than a simple argument,” prosecutor Raymond A. Santiago said in the statement.
The nature of the dispute is unclear.
