Toms River, NJ – A Keansburg man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Mary O’Connor, 32, of Seaside Heights, following a violent assault earlier in the week, authorities announced Thursday.
Emiliano Davila, 41, was initially charged with aggravated assault but now faces upgraded charges after the victim succumbed to her injuries.
Prosecutors say O’Connor was found unresponsive at a local hospital with blunt force trauma and signs of strangulation.
Key Points
- Emiliano Davila, 41, of Keansburg, charged with murder after woman’s death
- Victim Mary O’Connor, 32, suffered blunt force trauma and strangulation injuries
- Assault occurred at Seaside Heights motel where O’Connor was living
Victim left at hospital by two men
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to Community Medical Center on November 3 after O’Connor was dropped off by two unidentified men who left before police arrived. Investigators determined Davila was one of those men. O’Connor was found unresponsive with severe head injuries and a brain bleed consistent with an assault.
Relationship and assault details emerge
Authorities said Davila and O’Connor had been in a dating relationship and that the assault took place the night before her hospitalization at a Seaside Heights motel. Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Seaside Heights Police Detective Bureau linked Davila to the assault through interviews and evidence collected from the scene.
Initial arrest and charge escalation
Davila was arrested November 3 by members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force and Brick Township Police Department. He was first charged with domestic violence aggravated assault by strangulation and booked into the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing. After O’Connor’s death on November 5, the medical examiner determined her cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head resulting in a subdural hematoma. The manner of death was ruled homicide.
Murder charge served in jail
Following the autopsy results, the Prosecutor’s Office upgraded the charge against Davila to murder. The charge was formally served to him on November 6 while he remained in custody at the Ocean County Jail. Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the investigation remains active as detectives continue to gather evidence related to O’Connor’s death.
