Keansburg man indicted for murder in Seaside Heights motel death
Seaside Heights, NJ – A Keansburg man has been indicted on a murder charge after investigators say a violent assault inside a Seaside Heights motel left a 32-year-old woman dead days later.
An Ocean County grand jury indicted Emiliano Davila, 41, on January 28 in connection with the death of Mary O’Connor, 32, of Seaside Heights. The indictment follows a weeks-long investigation into a November incident that began at a local motel and ended at a Toms River hospital.
On November 3, officers responded to Community Medical Center after a woman suffering severe head trauma was dropped off by two men who immediately left the area. The woman, later identified as O’Connor, was unresponsive, suffering from a brain bleed, and had visible bruising consistent with strangulation.
Detectives with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and the Seaside Heights Police Department determined Davila was one of the men who brought O’Connor to the hospital. Further investigation revealed the two were in a dating relationship and that Davila had allegedly assaulted O’Connor the night before inside the Seaside Heights motel where she had been staying.
Davila was taken into custody later that same day and charged with domestic violence aggravated assault by strangulation. He was lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending court proceedings.
Two days later, on November 5, O’Connor succumbed to her injuries. A post-mortem examination conducted by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died from blunt force trauma to the head that caused a subdural hematoma. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Following the medical examiner’s findings, prosecutors upgraded the charge against Davila to murder. He was formally served with the charge at the Ocean County Jail, where he remains detained pending trial.
Key Points
- A Keansburg man was indicted for murder in the death of a Seaside Heights woman
- Investigators say the victim was assaulted at a motel before being dropped off at a hospital
- The victim died days later, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide
