“Murder Suspect Denzel Whitmore Arrested for Killing Elaine Murray in West Windsor, NJ”

Denzel Whitmore of Hamilton Township, NJ has been charged with murder, burglary, and tampering with evidence in connection with the recent murder of Elaine Murray in West Windsor, New Jersey. Whitmore turned himself in to the Hamilton Police Department after seeing a news article about the murder. The police found Murray’s body in her residence with multiple injuries, including a skin tear on her arm and bruising around her eyes. Whitmore’s mother reported that he confessed to breaking into a house and strangling a white female. The police found blood-stained items in Whitmore’s car and in a nearby waterway. Whitmore was arrested and charged with multiple offenses. MidJersey.News reported

On August 15, 2023, new information regarding the murder of Elaine Murray in West Windsor, New Jersey has been revealed through an OPRA Request obtained by MidJersey.news. Denzel Whitmore, a resident of Hamilton Township, NJ, has been charged with murder, burglary, and tampering with evidence. According to an Affidavit of Probable Cause, it was reported that Murray’s concerned neighbor contacted the West Windsor Police after not hearing from her for several days and noticing the accumulation of mail. The neighbor discovered a broken window leading to the basement with blood stains on the glass and a pulled back screen on a first-floor window. When the police arrived and entered the residence, they found drops of blood throughout the house. Upon reaching the second floor, they discovered Murray’s lifeless body with visible injuries to her face, bleeding from her head, ears, and mouth, as well as a skin tear on her arm.

Prior to the incident, Whitmore’s mother reported him missing to the Hamilton Police Division on July 31, 2023, stating that he had returned home early that morning claiming to have killed someone the previous night. She mentioned that he went to bed and she left for school without further conversation. Later, Whitmore returned to the house in a distressed state, confessing to breaking into a house, possibly in East Windsor, and strangling an unknown white woman. He believed he had broken her trachea as blood was coming from her mouth. Whitmore, who said he was highly intoxicated at the time, searched news websites but found no reports of the incident. He expressed guilt and a desire to harm himself, prompting his mother to become concerned when he left the house in his vehicle and began sending her apologetic text messages. The Hamilton Police entered Whitmore and his vehicle as missing and endangered in the NCIC database. However, a search for any burglary or assault reports returned no results at the time. Whitmore’s phone was eventually located in Aberdeen, Maryland, and the Hamilton Police sought assistance from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office to locate him. Deputies found Whitmore in his vehicle in a parking lot, observing cuts and lacerations on his right forearm and band-aids on his right hand, which he could not recall how he received. The deputies obtained consent to search his vehicle and discovered a knife with blood on the handle, as well as two loaded Glock magazines, but no firearm was found. Whitmore did not exhibit suicidal behavior during the encounter and was released.

On August 3, 2023, a search warrant was executed at Murray’s residence, where her body was turned over to the Middlesex County medical examiner for autopsy. The search revealed that the suspect had entered the house by breaking a glass window in the basement. Blood, presumed to belong to the suspect, was found on the broken glass, and a trail of blood led upstairs to the first floor. More blood was discovered on Murray’s purse, wallet, and in the living room. The victim’s body was found on the second floor, with evidence of a blood trail on the stairs leading to her. In the victim’s bedroom, blood was found on the floor, including bloody shoe imprints. The sheets on the bed were removed, and a memory foam pillow with distinct diagonal line patterns was located. Another pillow covering with a floral pattern and bloodstains was also found.

Additionally, concerned citizens reported a “body” in Crosswicks Creek, near Whitmore’s residence, on August 3, 2023. However, it was determined to be a trash bag containing a blue plastic tarp. Inside the tarp, police found bloodstained sheets, a bloodstained pillow, and other items of evidential value. The bloodstained pillow matched the one found at Murray’s residence, as it was also made of memory foam with diagonal line patterns. A pillow covering with a floral pattern and bloodstains was also discovered.

Later that same day, Whitmore and his mother unexpectedly arrived at the Hamilton Police Department, where he was arrested and his cellphone was seized as evidence. Whitmore’s mother stated that she had convinced him to return home from Florida, where he had flown to after leaving his car in Maryland. She mentioned that he had seen a news article about Murray’s murder and realized that he had committed the crime. She drove him to the police station so he could turn himself in.

In summary, Denzel Whitmore has been charged with murder, burglary, and tampering with evidence in the case of Elaine Murray’s murder in West Windsor, New Jersey. The investigation revealed a trail of blood from the basement to the second floor of Murray’s residence, as well as bloodstained items found in a trash bag near Whitmore’s residence. Whitmore’s confession to his mother, along with the discovery of his phone in Maryland, further implicated him in the crime..