Four Indicted Four Aggravated Manslaughter In Death Of Woman

Sunday, October 13, 2024, 8:15 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

UNION, NJ.- On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, a Grand Jury sitting in Union County, New Jersey, returned a direct indictment against three Union Township, New Jersey, men, and a Tuxedo Park, New York man in connection with the May 2024, death of a 28-year-old woman.

     According to Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Union Police Director Christopher Donnelly, Jeremyh Joseph Charles, 27, Marvin Joseph Charles, 38, and Kern Charles, 65, all from Union, New Jersey, and Timothee Joseph Charles, 31, of Tuxedo Park, New York, were each charged on Wednesday in the indictment with Aggravated Manslaughter for their roles in the death of 28-year-old Kerline Charles.

Investigations Leads To Indictment

     The indictment stems from an investigation that began on May 10, 2024, when members of the Union Police Department responded to a request to conduct a welfare check at a residence located on the 300 Block of Greenbriar Drive in Union.

     Upon arrival, Police Officers made entry into the residence and discovered the body of Kerline Charles, 28, of Union, New Jersey. Ms. Charles was subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene.

     According to Assistant Union County Prosecutor Joseph Cho, who presented the case to the Grand Jury, a subsequent autopsy performed by the Union County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of Ms. Kerline’s death to be cardiac arrest following physical restraint and compressional asphyxia.

Suspects Arrested

     A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force in conjunction with the Union Police Department led to the indictment. All four men were arrested on Thursday, October 10, 2024, without incident and processed on the charges and were remanded to the Essex County Correctional Facility pending future court proceedings in Union County Superior Court in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

     The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a pretrial detention motion with the court to have all four men detained pending trial.

“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”