🚨Maxwell Johnston, 35, faces a murder charge in the death of  Gabriella Caroleo

🚨He was not in custody as of Wednesday

🚨Caroleo was laid to rest on Tuesday


MANCHESTER — A suspect has been charged with murder in the death of a 25-year-old mother found shot to death in the stomach. He is a fugitive from justice.

Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, is the suspect in the killing of Gabriella Caroleo, of Barnegat. Her body was found near the intersection of Ridgeway Road (Route 571) and Hope Chapel Road (Route 547) in Manchester on June 27.

Johnston is also charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and being a certain person not to possess a weapon.

He was not in custody as of Wednesday afternoon.

ALSO READ: Racist comments, corruption cases -
and mayor's new hot mic moment

Police close off Route 547 at Route 571 in Manchester during an incident at Ridgeway Liquor in Manchetser 6/27/24
Police close off Route 547 at Route 571 in Manchester during an incident at Ridgeway Liquor in Manchetser 6/27/24 (Tri-County Scanner News)
loading...

Relationship between suspect, victim

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer did not disclose the relationship between Johnson and Caroleo or a possible motive.

The prosecutor did not say where Johnston may be. He said there was "some law enforcement activity in Howell" related to the investigation Monday night but it did not involve anyone who was barricaded.

Billhimer asked anyone with information about Johnson's location to call the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027 or Manchester Township Police at 732-657-2009.

Caroleo was laid to rest on Tuesday. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help with funeral expenses.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom

Look for these NJ athletes at the Paris Olympics

There will be lots of NJ ties in Paris for the Olympic games this summer, running July 26 through Aug. 11 — with events airing on NBC and online at NBC.com.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

Nasty, disgusting food sold in NJ that people actually eat

From dairy to fish and even meats, these are just some of the foods sold in New Jersey markets that, for whatever reason, people actually eat.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant

POP QUIZ: Can you guess these NJ theme parks from Google Earth images?

Gallery Credit: Dan Zarrow