A New Jersey man is behind bars after prosecutors say he burned his girlfriend and left her to die in the Pine Barrens during what was supposed to be a romantic camping trip.
Justin D. Martin, 36, of Saddle Brook, was arrested Oct. 16 and charged with attempted murder and aggravated arson in the Oct. 15 attack in the Colliers Mills area of Plumsted Township, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Bilheimer. He is being held at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.
The victim survived only because she managed to stumble through the wilderness and find a worker after Martin allegedly fled. She desperately begged the worker to call 911, according to court documents, and told him her boyfriend had tried to kill her and burn her before escaping in a Chrysler 200.
Emergency crews found the woman conscious but suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. She was intubated and flown to Temple University Burn Center in Philadelphia, where she was later reported in stable condition. Bilheimer confirmed she remains in stable condition.
The attack capped a pattern of abuse that the victim’s mother had already reported to detectives, according to court documents. The mother told investigators Martin had previously been verbally abusive, thrown objects at her daughter, and abandoned her at Freehold Raceway Mall. During that earlier incident, a stranger reportedly helped the stranded woman arrange transportation to her mother’s home.
On the morning of the alleged attack, the woman stopped at her mother’s house around 9 a.m. To collect camping supplies but never revealed where she was headed, according to court papers. Hours later, Martin allegedly called the victim’s mother himself, claiming he and her daughter had argued and that he had left the campsite.
Soon afterward, the mother received the devastating call from emergency responders about her daughter’s condition.
Investigators tracked Martin’s Chrysler to Asbury Park, where they found the vehicle covered in evidence of sandy terrain, according to authorities. Police located Martin inside with another man and a woman. The second man claimed he had been sleeping in the back seat all day and knew nothing about the attack; detectives ended his interview, citing a lack of cooperation.
Martin declined to speak with investigators and requested an attorney.
The sprawling Pine Barrens, where the attack occurred, covers more than a million acres across southern New Jersey and is famously associated with the legendary Jersey Devil, a mythical creature said to haunt the forested wilderness.
The investigation remains ongoing.