South Brunswick Man Charged With Murder

A South Brunswick man has been charged with murdering a township woman inside the home they shared, authorities said.

Andre Griffith, 37, was arrested at Times Square in New York at 1:15 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities said they had been searching for him for a week.

He is accused of killing Samantha Ross, 47, inside the Jones Drive home they shared, according to a news release issued Thursday by Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond J. Hayducka.

According to the news release:

Ross’ body was found on Sept. 24, after her relatives called police and said they were concerned about her welfare.

Police entered the home and found her. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:07 a.m.

Her cause of death was asphyxiation, according to an autopsy performed by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Griffith is being held in New York. It was not immediately clear when he will be returned to New Jersey, where bail has been set at $1 million.

“I applaud the diligent efforts of the law enforcement officers that led to the safe capture of the defendant, including those from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Unit, the New York City Police Department, the South Brunswick Police Department, and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office,” Carey said in a prepared statement.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Eric Tighelaar of the South Brunswick Police Department at (732) 329-4646, or Detective Craig Marchak of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3254.