Larry Brown, 27, was charged Tuesday, June 21 with murder and weapons offenses, according to Burlington County Acting Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Beverly City Public Safety Director Rich Wolbert.
Brown was served with the warrant at the Prosecutor’s Office. He has been held in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly on charges stemming from the June 14 incident at the Bentley Avenue residence.
An investigation began after the Beverly City Police Department was contacted on that date at approximately 1:15 a.m. by a woman who said she had just spoken to Brown, who was inside the home. She told police that Brown indicated 34-year-old Cecilio Luciano had been killed in the residence a short time earlier, Bradshaw and Wolbert said.
Police became aware that a woman and four children resided at the home and were present with Brown. When contacted by police, Brown refused to exit the house, but the woman and kids emerged unharmed over the next several hours. Brown came out at approximately 8:30 a.m. and was taken into custody.
The New Jersey State Police TEAMS Unit entered the home and discovered Luciano’s body. An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood indicated the Highland Park resident had been bludgeoned to death.
The investigation determined the weapon was a baseball bat, authorities said.
Brown, who primarily resided with a relative in Burlington Township, was charged last week with kidnapping and weapons offenses.
The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Beverly City Police Department, Burlington County Bridge Commission Police Department, Delanco Police Department, Delran Police Department, Edgewater Park Township Police Department, New Jersey State Police, Riverside Township Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.
The lead investigators are BCPO Detectives Jenn Marchese, Kevin Sobotka and Andrew Ridolfi.
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