Homicide map New Jersey 2009

The youngest was a year old. The oldest was ninety-six. Some were killed by bitter ex-lovers or romantic rivals, others were killed by their spouses or friends. Others yet were gunned down while selling drugs on a street corner, hit in gang crossfire, run down by fleeing felons, or simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The 2009 homicide map of New Jersey is fully researched and up to date, from the first homicide on January 1 2009, to the most recent one this morning. The map can be found at http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100430255326859206461.00046c0c8bf50984defdd

This map is helpful in getting a general picture of crime and its victims in New Jersey, looking at the age, race, gender, and location of these murder victims. However, not all homicides are created the same, and not all homicides are murder.


The homicide are separated into 3 degrees for the purpose of this list.

1st degree homicide – Cold-blooded murder, premeditated or otherwise. This includes gang-related hits, disputes, domestic violence, targeted killings, and blind disregard for human life. There were two cases where a victim was killed by shooters firing into a large crowd – an 18-year-old boy killed in Lawnside, and a 13-year-old girl killed in Trenton. These are counted as 1st degree homicides because of the shooters’ intent to kill, and their total lack of respect for life. Likewise, the beating death of a 9-year-old boy in Camden is counted as 1st degree, because even if the killer’s intent was not death, his recklessness with human life still classifies him as a murderer.

There have been 106 victims of 1st degree murder in New Jersey so far in 2009. Included in that are four double homicides.


2nd degree homicide – Indirect murder, aggravated manslaughter, and malicious assaults that result in death. This includes hit-and-runs that kill their victims, murders in which the killers don’t directly come in contact with their victims such as the murder of a firefighter in Elizabeth, and a controversial case in which a husband who had been fighting with his wife shot her in the back with a pellet gun, piercing her lung and killing her. Not all vehicular homicides are counted, as some are legitimately accidental, but vehicular homicides where the perpetrator runs, or refuses to stop for someone on the road, are considered opportunistic murder, despite their lack of premeditation. A driver who runs down a pedestrian due to carelessness is not the same as a fleeing criminal in a police chase who kills a woman while escaping the cops.

There have been twenty-one victims of 2nd degree murder so far in 2009.


3rd degree homicide – Justifiable homicide, including police shootings that result in the death of the criminal. This is the smallest category of homicides, and arguably the least damaging to society. When a man with a knife rushes at police threatening to kill them, taking the attacker’s life in self-defense is no crime, but still the intentional taking of life, so it counts on the homicide map.

There have been five victims of 3rd degree homicide so far in 2009, though it’s debatable if they should be considered ‘victims’ of anyone but themselves.


Some statistics and other details on the demographics of the victims:

102 men were victims of homicide, compared to 30 women. (77.2% versus 22.8%)
The range of ages was heavily concentrated from around 19-33, with a mode at 27, and smaller peaks scattered around.

0-17: 9
18-35:82
36-65: 33
66+: 7
Unknown: 6

Or, in another way of looking at it:

0-9: 5
10-19: 15
20-29: 50
30-39: 20
40-49: 15
50-59: 12
60-69: 1
70-79: 3
80-89: 3
90+: 1
Unknown: 6

The unknown ages are either people who were not identified, or in one case a homeless man whose age could not be determined. Here are some statistics on the homicides by geography:

List of cities by most homicides –
Newark – 22
Jersey City – 17
Camden – 14
Trenton – 8
East Orange – 3
Elizabeth – 3
Irvington – 3
Paterson – 3

A large list of towns had two murders, including Hackensack, Vineland, Bridgeton, and Atlantic City, and another even huger list of towns had only a single murder this year, including Garfield, Neptune, Passaic, Roselle, and Orange.

List of counties by most homicides –
Essex: 35
Hudson: 20
Camden: 17
Middlesex: 11
Mercer: 8
Passaic: 6
Monmouth: 5
Burlington: 5
Union: 5
Bergen: 4
Cumberland: 4
Cape May: 3
Atlantic: 2
Gloucester: 2
Ocean: 2
Somerset: 2
Warren: 2
Sussex: 1
Hunterdon: 0
Morris: 0
Salem: 0

As expected, the counties of Essex, Hudson, and Camden have the highest murder rates due to the cities Newark, Jersey City and Camden.

This blog will continue to cover North Jersey crime, but also murders around the entire state. Today, an unidentified woman was killed in Newark after her car was struck by three fleeing burglars, at the intersection of Foster and Dayton. The criminals, who were being chased by police after a burglary in Elizabeth, ran into Weequahic Park and are currently being hunted. This homicide is #23 for Newark, #35 for Essex County, and #132 for the state as a whole.

The blog will also cover certain publicized murders, or ones that serve as an example of typical crime, or ones that are just really interesting. Check back for more updates soon.