Decomposed Body Update: 5th Suspect Charged In Murder Of Man Found In Woods, Prosecutor Says

On Friday, Jan. 3, Sandeep Kumar, 34, was taken into custody and processed at the New Jersey State Police Barracks in Holmdel, on accusations he'd been involved in the murder of Kuldeep Kumar, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. 

Kumar was lodged in the Ocean County Jail on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Kuldeep Kumar had been reported missing by family members in Ozone Park, NY on Oct. 26, as previously reported by Daily Voice. His body was later found in the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area in Manchester Township.

On Sunday, Dec. 21, authorities identified the suspects as Sourav Kumar, 23, Gaurav Singh, 27, Nirmal Singh, 30, and Gurdeep Singh, 22, all of Greenwood, Indiana, the prosecutor's office said.

The case began on Saturday, Dec. 14, when the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit was contacted about a body discovered in an advanced state of decomposition in the wildlife area. A post-mortem examination performed the following day by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, according to Billhimer and Callahan. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

With assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the victim was identified as Kuldeep Kumar, who had been reported missing by family members in Ozone Park, NY. Investigators concluded that the four suspects acted together in orchestrating and carrying out the murder, Callahan and Billhimer said.

On Dec. 20, 2024, the first four suspects were apprehended in Greenwood, Indiana, without incident. They were identified as Sourav Kumar, 23, Gaurav Singh, 27, Nirmal Singh, 30, and Gurdeep Singh.

Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit, FBI, and the Greenwood Police Department took part in the arrests. The suspects are currently being held at Johnson County Jail in Indiana, pending extradition to New Jersey.

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