Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office

25 Kirkpatrick Street, 3^rd Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901 (732) 745-3300

*News Release* Date: April 9, 2010

Perth Amboy man arrested and charged in Old Bridge homicide

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and Old Bridge Police Chief Thomas H. Collow announced that a Perth Amboy man has been arrested and charged with giving false information to police during an investigation into the death of a township woman who was found in her home on April 8, 2010.

Robert L. Hayes Jr. (DOB 10/4/77) of Perth Amboy was arrested on the evening of April 8, 2010 and was charged with obstruction and hindering police during the investigation into the death of the woman.

Hayes was being held today at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick in lieu of $200,000 bail, which was set by Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz. The judge said the defendant must post the full amount, and not 10 percent, before he can be released.

Police found Hayes at the home of an unidentified friend in Aberdeen, and brought him to the Old Bridge Police Department, where he was charged.

Hayes was charged during the on-going investigation into the death of the woman, who was found on the morning of April 8, 2010, in her home at 18 Hilltop Boulevard in the Cliffwood Beach section of Old Bridge.

While the woman’s identity has been determined, it cannot be disclosed until it is confirmed through additional examination.

An autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office has preliminarily determined the woman was the victim of a homicide, but the cause of death is awaiting the results of additional tests.

Members of the New Jersey State Police are assisting in the joint investigation with the Old Bridge Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Additional information will be released as it becomes available.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Michael Machen at the Old Bridge Police Department at (732) 721-5600, or Investigator Paul Miller at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-4466.

As is the case with all criminal defendants, the charges against Hayes are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.