Introduction
This blog is a tracking of the murder case of Brittney Gregory by Jack Fuller Jr. for those looking for information.
I had planned to cover the facts as they unfolded, piece together as much of the press and information as I can, since many of the sources of information are
either poorly linked, or disappear to archives (some paid).
At some point I still hope to get some, interviews with some of the players in this case,as well as Brittney's family and friends. I have opted not to even try up until now as I felt there were other places their attention needed to be focused.
While I tried to remain unbiased, once Fuller admitted to killing Brittney, it became impossible for me as a father of a young girl to be COMPLETELY "fair and balanced".
But despite that, all information that I uncover will be found here.
Please feel free to comment, but remain civil. (especially towards each other).
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Tape of chat with informant ruled admissible
(originally published in the Brick Township Bulletin )
Judge: Trial for murder of Brittney Gregory will stay in Ocean County
BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer
July 21, 2005)
An audiotape of the defendant in the Brittney Gregory murder case saying he “killed a white girl from Brick” will be made available to the jury.
State Superior Court Judge Vincent Grasso ruled on Friday that the audiotape of Jack Fuller Jr. speaking with a witness for the prosecution will be allowed in court. Fuller’s attorney, John Goins, attempted to dispute the use of the audiotape, saying parts of it are inaudible.
Members of Gregory’s family listened, some doing their best to choke back tears, as the tape was played in the courtroom Friday.
On the tape, Fuller is reportedly heard asking the informant how deep a body should be buried so it’s not detectable by animals. The defendant is also heard saying that he may have to “take out” Tom Long, another witness for the prosecution, officials said.
Fuller, 39, has been indicted for a single count of murder and faces 30 years to life in prison. Seated in the courtroom last week, Fuller, who is being held at Ocean County jail in lieu of $1 million bail, remained stoic as the judge made his rulings.
Gregory’s body was discovered on July 27, 2004, after she had been missing for two weeks. The 16-year-old’s body was found buried in Lakewood in a shallow grave near the Metedeconk River boundary separating Monmouth and Ocean counties. The site is about 2 miles from Gregory’s home.
The motion to preclude using the audiotape was one of several motions made by Goins in Grasso’s courtroom Friday. The judge denied all of Goins’ requests, including a motion to suppress evidence found in Fuller’s vehicle, a motion to suppress the medical examiner’s testimony and a motion to throw out Fuller’s indictment. In that motion, Goins argued that the prosecution failed to show that Fuller purposely caused her death. However, Grasso said that because Fuller is heard on the audiotape saying he had to kill Gregory because she saw his face, the prosecution did demonstrate Fuller’s purpose.
The most contested motion made last week was Goins’ attempt to change the location of the trial from the Ocean County courthouse in Toms River. Goins said that because Gregory’s death was so tragic, the media covered the search for her body and the law enforcement’s pursuit of Fuller in depth. Goins provided Grasso with a stack of newspaper articles and radio broadcast transcripts. He pointed out that some news reports referred to Gregory and Fuller as the “beauty and the beast,” and used the word “killer” when speaking of his client.
“This is a community that knows this case, whether you just say Brittney or you say Fuller,” Goins said.
Executive Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Ronald DeLigny, who will be prosecuting the case on behalf of the state, said that Gregory’s disappearance was covered a lot in the beginning, but since her body was found, the coverage has lessened.
“Although there’s been coverage in the press, not all jurors may be aware of it,” DeLigny said.
Grasso said that while the case has received the media’s attention, the defense would have to prove that Fuller is the target of the “media’s crusade” in order to prove he could not receive a “fair and impartial” trial in Ocean County. Grasso said the jurors will be paneled and asked how familiar they are with the case before the trial. If it becomes apparent that an unbiased jury can’t be compiled, Grasso said Goins could make a motion at that time for a change of venue.
The specific cause of Gregory’s death is still unknown — one reason why Goins attempted to suppress the medical examiner’s testimony. Autopsy results revealed that Gregory’s body was found unclothed but with no signs of mutilation. The autopsy proved that the young girl was dead before she was buried and that her death was the result of a homicide. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, strangulation and suffocation have not been ruled out as the cause of her death.
Goins argued that because these two means have not been ruled out, they also have not been ruled in.,
“It is a guess on the part of the medical examiner that these could be the causes of death,” Goins said.
Grasso said he would hold another hearing at a future date to hear what facts the medical examiner used in order to formulate his opinion.
Gregory’s last contact with family members came around 8:30 p.m. July 11, 2004, when she contacted her mother, Debra Gregory, from her father’s home on Greenwood Loop Road in Brick. According to her mother, Gregory called about getting a ride to see her boyfriend.
Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Gasser, the public information officer for the Prosecutor’s Office, said there was another passenger in Fuller’s vehicle with Gregory on the day she disappeared. Tom Long, the other passenger, was in the vehicle when Fuller picked Gregory up. At that time Gregory was seated in the rear of the vehicle and moved up front when Long was dropped off, Gasser said.
Blood found in Fuller’s vehicle was determined by the state police DNA laboratory to be Gregory’s.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Judge Allows Evidence in NJ Teen Murder Case
(originally published by 1010 WINS July 17th 2005)
(1010 WINS) (TOMS RIVER, N.J.) A state Superior Court judge has refused to throw out damaging evidence against Howell resident Jack Fuller Jr., accused of killing an Ocean County teenager last summer.
Fuller, 39, is charged with murder in the death of 16-year-old Brittney Gregory, of Brick, who was found buried in a shallow grave in July 2004.
Judge Vincent Grasso on Friday allowed prosecutors to use a secretly recorded tape between Fuller and an informant in which Fuller allegedly asked for advice on how deep to bury the body.
Grasso also turned down a request from Fuller's defense attorney to have the trial moved from Ocean County because of the publicity surrounding the case.
Gregory was a straight-A student at Brick Memorial High School who dreamed of becoming a forensic scientist.
She disappeared July 11 after she called her mother from her father's house and said she wanted a ride to her boyfriend's home. Her mother told Brittney that her sister would give her a ride if she waited about 45 minutes, but Brittney did not answer the phone later that night.
Her body was found two weeks later beneath a power line tower in Lakewood.
Fuller, who was a friend of Gregory's father, has a history of drug and theft-related offenses. He had been released from prison in 2003.
A trial date has not been set.
