Man Admits Dumping Woman's Tarp-Wrapped Body In Wall

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Brick Township man pleaded guilty Friday to dumping the body of a woman by the side of a road in Wall Township in 2018, the Monmouth County prosecutor's office said.

Edward Ramirez, 51, of Brick, pleaded guilty to second-degree disturbing or desecrating human remains, for his role in discarding the deceased body of Jamie Leis, 35, who had lived in Toms River. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25 before Judge Vincent N. Falcetano Jr., and faces 5 years in prison under the terms of the plea agreement.

Authorities have not released a cause of death for Leis.

Leis was found about 10:30 a.m. on May 17, 2018, in the area of Brighton Avenue and Rockefeller Drive when authorities were called about a body wrapped in a tarp. Wall police determined it was Leis.

Their investigation led to discovery of video surveillance from a nearby house that showed a work-style van stopped about 2 a.m. in the area of Rockefeller Drive and Brighton Avenue. The video showed a man, later identified as Ramirez, get out of the van, open the rear doors and discard Jami Leis’s body near the curb.

Additional surveillance videos helped police determine where the van went as well as its license plate, and they later were able to determine Ramirez was the person driving the van.

Ramirez was arrested June 5, 2018.

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