suspect
Police follow
suspect’s blood trail through township
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer
Police charged a 23-year-old North Brunswick resident with allegedly carjacking a family in Newark and sexually assaulting the mother on Sunday, according to police.
Jason Michael Kish, of Aaron Road, allegedly forced his way into the 24-year-old Red Bank woman’s 1995 Chevrolet van containing her two infant children shortly before 1 p.m. at 62 Columbia St. in Newark, according to North Brunswick Patrolman Nathaniel Nicholson.
Prior to the vehicle’s crashing into the median on the ramp leading from Route 1 onto Jersey Avenue in North Brunswick at approximately 1:42 p.m., Kish allegedly made the woman take off all of her clothes and "touched her [sexually] several times" while speeding down the Garden State Parkway, according to police reports.
"The suspect allegedly grabbed one of the infant children from its car seat and gave it to the mother," Nicholson said. "The suspect allegedly stated he wanted the child to watch him grope and feel the victim."
To avoid this alleged sexual act, the woman reportedly grabbed the steering wheel to her van, rear-ended another vehicle, and crashed the car into the concrete median, according to police reports.
When Nicholson "came upon what appeared to be a motor vehicle accident in the fast lane, a naked woman came running toward the vehicle," he said.
After the accident, Kish fled the area, but left behind a trail of blood, according to a report of the incident.
"The blood spots were on the northbound side of the concrete median, across the highway, and onto the steel guardrail," Nicholson said.
Nicholson said he called all available cars to search for Kish, who reportedly suffered an injury in the accident and who did not have a shirt on.
South Bound Brook’s K-9 Unit also responded to track Kish down from his blood trail, Nicholson said.
South Bound Brook police Patrolman Rick Fittin handled the dog that led police through grassy fields, onto railroad tracks, across Route 1, through residential streets and back yards, and through Sabella Park before locating Kish in bushes on Willowbrook Avenue.
"On the orders of all three officers present, the suspect got onto the ground and was then apprehended," Nicholson said. "He had a very bloody face when we encountered him."
Police arrested Kish and transported him to St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment for his injuries sustained in the accident, according to police reports.
The township’s First Aid Squad transported the female victim and her children to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.
The victim reportedly identified Kish later during an investigation conducted by the Newark Police Detective Bureau, according to the report.
Newark police charged Kish with three counts of kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and carjacking.
Kish was taken into custody by Newark officers at St. Peter’s Hospital at 8:32 p.m., according to the report.