Arrest Made In Death Of Woman Whose Body Was Found In Egg Harbor Township
MAYS LANDING, N.J., (CBS) -- A Pleasantville man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of a woman whose remains were found in a wooded area of Egg Harbor Township seven months ago, Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain announced Tuesday night.
Steven Stallworth, 27, has been arrested and charged with Murder and Desecration of Human Remains, McClain said.
On Sunday, January 5 around 1:30 p.m., a hunter found human remains in the woods behind the Shore Mall site near Broadway Avenue in Egg Harbor Township. The hunter, who is a municipal police officer in Atlantic County, immediately notified authorities and reported the discovery.
The victim, Tara Rogers Alicea, 30, of Monroeville, NJ, was identified within days of her body's recovery, from photographs of tattoos that were released to the public. Detectives subsequently confirmed the identification based upon fingerprint analysis.
The State Medical Examiner's Office, in consultation with a State Medical Anthropologist, determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation by strangulation, and ruled her death a homicide.
A joint investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit, the Egg Harbor Township Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Pleasantville Police Department, culminated in the arrest Tuesday morning of Stallworth.
His bail was set at $2,000,000 cash/full.
Anyone with information pertaining to this case is asked to call the Atlantic County Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666.
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