Florida Woman Convicted of Murdering Her Child, Dumping Body in NJ Swamp

Michelle Lodzinski was recently convicted of killing her young son in 1991 and then dumping his body in a New Jersey swamp.

Lodzinski lived in South Amboy NJ when the homicide was committed. Medical examiners were unable to perform a conclusive autopsy on the victim, five-year-old Timothy Wiltsey, because his skeleton had deteriorated by the time it was located in the swamp.

It wasn’t until 23 years later, in 2014, that NJ law enforcement finally had enough evidence to arrest Lodzinski and charge her with first degree murder. That’s because police struggled for a long time to connect Wiltsey to the blanket that was found near his remains in the New Jersey marshland. Moreover, there was absolutely no forensic evidence to link Lodzinski to the killing.

However, that changed when multiple witnesses indicated that they were able to identify the blanket found in the swamp as belonging to Wiltsey. The witnesses were the boy’s former babysitters.

The babysitters said that they recognized the blanket because it had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wiltsey’s favorite cartoon characters, pictured on it. The witnesses told police that the blanket came from the NJ apartment of Lodzinski.

Sometime after the homicide, Lodzinski moved from New Jersey to Florida. At the time of her arrest in 2014, she was living in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

During the recent trial, which was held in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Brunswick, NJ, prosecutors argued that Lodzinski killed her son because she was struggling to raise him. Lodzinski reportedly had to work multiple jobs in order to financially support the boy and went through several romantic relationships because her son required so much of her time.

Prosecutors also told the jury that the fact that Lodzinski changed her story about what happened to the child on the day he went missing was a strong indication that she had “consciousness of guilt” in his killing.

Meanwhile, Lodzinski’s criminal defense attorney countered the prosecution by emphasizing the lack of any strong physical evidence to connect his client to the boy’s death.

At the conclusion of the murder trial, the jury found Lodzinski guilty on the first degree murder charges. As a result, she faces life imprisonment, with a minimum mandatory term of incarceration of 35 years in New Jersey State Prison.

For more information about this high-profile case, view the Yahoo.com article, “Woman Convicted of Killing 5-Year-Old Son in 1991.”

If you or a loved one has been charged with murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault or any other violent crime in New Jersey, you could face severe penalties. That’s why it is crucial that you speak with a qualified criminal defense attorney immediately. Contact John W. Tumelty today for a free consultation about your case.