Man Found Guilty Of Strangling Wife, Dumping Body In Ocean Township

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Forked River man was convicted of strangling his wife to death after the two had an argument, and leaving her body on the side of a road in Ocean Township about a year and a half ago, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced Friday.

A jury returned a guilty verdict against Jeremy Cruz, 53, of Forked River. He will be sentenced in August, and is facing up to life in prison.

Just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, October 30, 2022, the body of a woman who appeared to have sustained severe injuries was found on Colonial Avenue, near the intersection with Asbury Avenue in Ocean Township. Her body was discovered by a passing driver, who called 911.

Dawn Cruz, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene.

At approximately the same time, her husband Jeremy Cruz turned himself in to authorities at Berkeley Township Police Department headquarters in Ocean County. He was charged with first-degree murder.

Cruz's lawyers, of Ansell Grimm & Aaron defense law firm in Ocean, initially tried to argue he was intoxicated, an argument thrown out of court by the judge.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Santiago said justice had been served.

“This conviction happened to coincide with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and it’s difficult to conceive of a crime more senseless, or a victim more deserving of justice, than a person killed by their spouse over nothing more than a simple argument,” Prosecutor Santiago said. “We sincerely thank the jury for their service in this matter and hope that the verdict delivers some small measure of solace to Dawn’s friends, family and loved ones.”

This case was investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean Township Police, Asbury Park Police, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and Berkeley Township Police.