Three charged following daylong search by
several police agencies
CHARLES W. KIM Police display two of the knives taken from Scott E. Oross who is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly attacking a housekeeper at the Red Roof Inn, Route 1, South Brunswick, last week.
A 47-year-old housekeeper at the Red Roof Inn remains in critical condition following a brutal attack at the Route 1 motel in South Brunswick.
The unidentified female, a township resident, was allegedly beaten with fists, strangled and kicked in the laundry room of the motel on Sept. 20 at about 1 p.m.
"Our community experienced a brutal attack," South Brunswick Police Capt. Frederick Thompson said during a press conference Friday afternoon.
Police later arrested and charged Scott E. Oross, 28, of South River with attempted murder in connection with the incident, following a 10-hour manhunt throughout the region.
DAWN MARIE SANNWALDT The Red Roof Inn on Route 1 in South Brunswick was the scene of a brutal attack on a housekeeper on Sept. 20.
Oross is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, in lieu of $500,000 bail.
"It was the worst attack the officers have ever seen," South Brunswick Public Information Officer Jim Ryan said, adding, "It appears to have been totally random."
Police said that Oross and his girlfriend, Christine Bradley, 28, of Sayreville had just returned from a vacation in Orlando, Fla., in Bradley’s 2001 Dodge Durango.
Oross, who police say is unemployed, stopped at the motel in Bradley’s Durango to allegedly purchase drugs, according to police.
DAWN MARIE SANNWALDT Scott E. Oross was arrested at the Ramada Inn, North Brunswick, some 11 hours after an attack on a Red Roof Inn housekeeper. Oross is charged with attempted murder.
"He had come to the Red Roof Inn to purchase narcotics," South Brunswick Detective Ed George said, adding that police suspect Oross may have been using drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the attack.
While at the motel, police said Oross was displaying several knives and swords that he apparently purchased in Florida to another resident of the motel.
While handing a sword to the resident on the second floor, Oross cut his finger on the blade, then went to the motel’s laundry room seeking a towel, according to police.
Police said Oross met the housekeeper in the laundry room, and she gave him a towel.
CHARLES W. KIM Knives police believe Scott W. Oross purchased in Florida were confiscated following last week’s attack on a housekeeper at the Red Roof Inn, South Brunswick. On the right is the police mug shot of Scott E. Oross, who is charged in the attack.
For an unknown reason, police charge that Oross then began to beat the housekeeper with his fists, strangle her with some kind of object, and kick her repeatedly.
Police said that Oross then fled to the room of an old friend in the motel.
That friend, identified as Diane Burns, 49, apparently knew Oross in Jamesburg through her son years before, according to police.
The housekeeper sustained fractures to the skull, a punctured lung, several broken ribs, and other multiple fractures during the assault, according to police.
Despite her massive injuries, the housekeeper was able to regain consciousness and stagger from the laundry room to the motel lobby before collapsing. Motel employees then called police.
By that point, however, Burns allegedly left the motel with Oross in an attempt to hide him, police claim.
Both Bradley and Burns were later arrested and charged with giving false information to police and hindering Oross’ apprehension.
Bradley is lodged in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Scott E. Oross and his girlfriend, Christine Bradley, both 28, pose for a picture at Sea World in Orlando, Fla., prior to returning to New Jersey.
Burns is also being held on $25,000 bail, police said.
About 40 officers from several area departments joined the search for Oross.
Police tracked Oross through the registration of the Durango and were able to establish his last known address in South River as 50 Willet Ave.
Neighbors in the apartment building, however, did not recognize Oross’ name or a photo when contacted Monday.
During a press conference Friday at the South Brunswick Municipal Building, Detective Ed George describes the attack on a housekeeper at the Red Roof Inn, Route 1. George was joined by Lt. Mark Montagna and Capt. Frederick Thompson.
Oross had left that address by the time police arrived and went to the Ramada Inn, Route 1 in North Brunswick with Bradley, police said.
He was arrested there at about 11 p.m. by North Brunswick police officers without incident.
According to police, Oross was already wanted on a fugitive arrest warrant for violating his parole at the time of the attack.
Police said that Oross was out on parole for a 1994 robbery at knifepoint in Monroe.
Oross served part of a 16-year sentence for that incident before being paroled, but failed to report to his parole officer in April.
A warrant was then issued for Oross, police said.
South Brunswick Police Chief Michael Paquette praised the cooperation of the region’s police agencies in apprehending Oross after the attack. Paquette also said that the officers involved in the incident should be recognized for their work.
"The investigation involved numerous interviews and tracking the suspect through several towns," Paquette said.
Paquette saluted South Brunswick detectives Ed George, John McNamara, John Klemas, Don Varga and James Kinard.
Officers Jim Ryan, Dan Olsson, Gene Rickle and Richard Schwarz were also commended by Paquette for finding the physical evidence and piecing the crime together.
Police from South River, Sayreville, North Brunswick, and a K-9 unit from Manalapan assisted in the hunt for Oross.