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US Marshals Nab Philly Man In NJ Motel Strangling, Stabbing: Prosecutor

A 26-year-old Philadelphia man has been arrested for strangling and stabbing a woman inside a South Jersey motel, authorities said.

Alexander Rivera and Michelle Johnston

Alexander Rivera and Michelle Johnston

Photo Credit: Burlington County Prosecutor's Office

Alexander Rivera, of the 6300 block of Cardiff Street in the Mayfair section of the city, was taken into custody without incident at his home on Friday Nov. 4 by the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force. 

An investigation began just before 11:30 a.m. on May 11, when officers from the Maple Shade Police Department were called to the Bel-Air Motor Lodge on Route 73 for a report of an unresponsive woman.

Michelle L. Johnston, 36, who had previously lived in multiple locations in the Burlington and Camden county areas, was found deceased in room 410, they said.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death was strangulation and multiple stab wounds, they said.

Rivera was jailed in Philadelphia pending an extradition hearing later this month, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Maple Shade Police Chief Christopher J. Fletcher.

The motive for the crime remains under investigation.

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