Headline Roundup • February 9th, 2023
New Jersey Council Member Murdered, Second This Month
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A New Jersey council member was shot and killed in the parking lot of his work on Wednesday, one week after a different New Jersey council member was shot and killed in her car.
Details: Councilman Russell Heller (R), 51, represented the Borough of Milford. Heller worked for Public Service Electric and Gas Co., where he was killed. Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour (R), 30, who represented the Borough of Sayreville, was shot and killed on February 1 in a murder case that remains unsolved.
Suspect: Authorities determined that Gary T. Curtis, a former employee of PSE&G, shot Heller in the parking lot of the PSE&G building. Curtis was found dead soon after— the cause of death ruled as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators stated Heller’s murder is an isolated incident and have not drawn connections between the two killings.
Key Quotes: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) tweeted, “our thoughts and prayers are with Russell Heller's family and friends in the wake of this tragic act of gun violence.” Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) tweeted, “I am shocked and saddened by the tragic murder of Milford Councilman Russell Heller. Russell was an outstanding public servant who proudly represented the river town he loved.”
How The Media Covered It: The pair of murders are being covered across the spectrum, with outlets typically noting the similarities between the two cases. The New York Post noted that both murdered council members were Republicans.
Featured Coverage of this Story
CBS New York
A second city council member in New Jersey was fatally shot outside of his car in a parking lot, officials said, a week after a councilwoman was shot and killed inside her car.
The 51-year-old councilman, Russell Heller, who represented the borough of Milford in central New Jersey, was found dead in the parking lot outside his workplace on Wednesday morning, local police and prosecutors said.
A former employee of Mr. Heller’s company allegedly killed the councilman, investigators said. Public Service Electric and Gas Co. said Mr. Heller worked as a senior...
Facebook/ Russ Heller
A New Jersey municipal council member was shot dead in his car Wednesday, exactly a week after the unsolved slaying of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.
Russell Heller, 51, was found dead just after 7 a.m. in the Somerset parking lot of PSE&G, the local energy company where the Milford Republican worked.
Cops quickly IDed a former employee, Gary Curtis, 58, as a suspect — and found him dead in his car from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot around three and a half hours after the slaying.
The councilman’s murder came exactly a...
A New Jersey council member was fatally shot in a parking lot outside his job Wednesday, just one week after another politician in the state was gunned down in her car.
Russell Heller, 51, a Republican representing the Milford area, was found dead just after 7 a.m. in the parking lot of PSE&G, the energy company where he worked, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Authorities quickly determined that a former employee of PSE&G, identified as Gary T. Curtis, 58, of Washington, had approached Heller in the parking lot and...
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