By KENNY WALTER and JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — A pair of locals has been charged in connection with the death of a Linden woman who had been reported missing since March.
The prosecutors in Monmouth and Union counties jointly announced on Aug. 17 that Jennifer Sweeney, 32, of Tinton Falls and Andre Harris, 32, of Long Branch, formerly of North Brunswick, are charged with the murder of Tyrita Julius, 41, who was reported missing in March and the subject of an extensive search and investigation.
On Aug. 16, detectives discovered the body of Julius, who had been missing since March 8. Her friend Sweeney and Harris are charged with first degree murder, second degree desecration of human remains and fourth degree tampering with physical evidence.
They made their initial appearance on Aug. 17 before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold. Bail was set at $1.5 million cash only, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.
The discovery of Julius follows an intensive five-month investigation by law enforcement personnel from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Union County Prosecutor’s Office, Linden Police Department, Tinton Falls Police Department, Long Branch Police Department and New Jersey Transit Police.
“Significant efforts were made to bring us to the discovery we all feared — Tyrita Julius died a tragic death. Tyrita was not dropped off at the Long Branch Train Station, instead Tyrita was murdered,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said.
“This investigation was a testament to the power of multi-agency collaboration in law enforcement. The outcome could not have been achieved without close cooperation among multiple police departments and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office,” acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park said. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tyrita Julius and extend our most sincere condolences to her friends and family, and we hope that we are able to give them some sense of closure by bringing those responsible for her death to justice.”
After not hearing from Tyrita, her mother, Queen Julius, called the Linden Police Department in Union County to report her daughter missing. The mother told authorities Tyrita had been spending time with a female friend in Tinton Falls on March 8, but failed to return home later that evening.
Linden Police were advised that calls and text messages to Tyrita Julius’ phone went unanswered. Queen Julius also told police her daughter was reportedly dropped off at the Long Branch Train Station at approximately 7 p.m. by Sweeney.
Law enforcement authorities from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and Linden Police Department subsequently contacted the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office about the investigation.
Julius was previously the victim of a serious, yet nonfatal shooting in Linden, on Nov. 24, 2015. The Linden Police Department was called to 913 Middlesex St. in Linden in reference to the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, police found Tyrita shot several times in the driver’s seat of her vehicle, which was located a short distance from her residence. At the time of the incident, a juvenile was seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle and was also the victim of a nonfatal gunshot wound.
Additionally, Sweeney and Harris are charged in Union County with two counts of first degree attempted murder, first degree conspiracy and two counts of second degree weapons offenses related to the incident in Linden. Bail is set at $500,000.
In 2011, as previously reported in Greater Media Newspapers, Harris, who was a resident of North Brunswick at the time and the coach of a South Brunswick girls’ softball team, had been charged with credit card fraud.
According to a joint press release at the time from Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano and Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Detectives Stuart A. Buckman, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office was contacted by a California resident on Sept. 2, 2011, who notified detectives of suspicious charges posted to her Discover credit card. The credit card was charged at the Sheraton Dolphin and Swan Hotel in Florida.
The credit card was also used fraudulently between July 1 and Aug. 15, 2011, for payments to T-Mobile and Cablevision. The total amount of fraudulent charges was $10,020.91.
Employees from the Sheraton provided authorities with information that Harris, the coach and manager of the New Jersey Thunder girls’ softball organization, was allegedly responsible for booking a block of hotel rooms between July 1 and Aug. 1 using the stolen credit card. During that time frame, the New Jersey Thunder teams participated in a softball tournament in Orlando, Florida.
The softball organization was privately owned and operated in South Brunswick and had multiple girls’ softball teams, with players ranging in ages from 13 to 23 years old, the release said.
It was learned that Harris resided in Franklin Park in July 2011, and that was where he made arrangements by telephone with the Sheraton property and used the stolen credit card to book the reservations.
Harris was charged with three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, one count of theft by deception and one count of credit card theft. He turned himself into the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and was released on his own recognizance.
The result of those charges were not known as of press time.