FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Somerset County) — A Georgia man has been arrested and charged with murder after a woman was found dead in a vehicle early Saturday in Franklin Township, authorities said.
Keith Demery, 54, of Ellenwood, Georgia, is charged with first-degree murder and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.
Police responded at about 6 a.m. May 2 to a hotel on Davidson Avenue after receiving a call from a man identifying himself as Demery, who requested an officer for a report of injuries, authorities said.
Officers arrived and met with Demery, who directed them to a vehicle in the rear parking lot. Inside the vehicle, officers found an unresponsive woman in the front passenger seat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Demery was detained and taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment of minor injuries, officials said. He was later released and transported to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, where he was charged and processed before being lodged at the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Authorities have not released the identity of the woman pending positive identification by the medical examiner. A postmortem examination is expected to determine the cause and manner of death.
The investigation is being conducted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Franklin Township Police Department, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit and the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at (732) 873-5533. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the STOPit app or the Somerset County tip line at 1-888-577-TIPS.
