Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on May 10, 2023, at approximately 1:30 p.m., multiple fire companies from the Berkeley Township area were dispatched to a structure fire on Tortola Street in Berkeley Township. During the course of fire suppression efforts, a 59 year-old male victim was discovered on the floor in the residence. The victim was transported to RWJ Community Medical Center in Toms River, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Berkeley Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Berkeley Township Bureau of Fire Prevention, determined that the fire originated on a recliner in the living room of the residence, and that cause of the fire was accidental due to smoking.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Berkeley Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Berkeley Township Police Department, and Berkeley Township Bureau of Fire Prevention, for their combined and cooperative efforts in connection with this investigation.