Under an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Newlin Evans IV entered a guilty plea in Superior Court in Mount Holly to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for a 22-year sentence in state prison, of which 85 percent must be served before he becomes eligible for parole. Sentencing is on March 24.
The investigation began after emergency officials were dispatched to a fire at the Tara Hall Apartment Complex in the first block of Egbert Street during the early morning hours of April 20, 2022, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.
The investigation revealed that Evans cut the screen of a ground-floor apartment, broke the window and threw material soaked in gasoline that he had lit on fire into the unit. The blaze killed 22-year-old Camryn Powell, Bradshaw said.
Evans, who suffered burns, fled the scene and ultimately was transported to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia for treatment. The investigation resulted in charges being filed against Evans, and he was arrested upon being discharged from Jefferson in May. He has been lodged in the Burlington County Jail since being apprehended.
The investigation was conducted by the New Jersey State Police, with assistance from the Pemberton Borough Police Department, Mansfield Police Department, New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, Burlington County Fire Marshal’s Office, Jefferson Hospital Campus Security Department and the Philadelphia Police Department.
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