The Murder of Brittney Gregory

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/30/05

BY MARGARET F. BONAFIDE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

TOMS RIVER — Because a medical examiner cannot be specific about what caused the death of murder victim Brittney Gregory, he will not be permitted to testify about the two most likely alternatives.

The forensic pathologist believes that 16-year-old Gregory was asphyxiated due to either suffocation or strangulation. Superior Court Judge Vincent J. Grasso ruled that the medical examiner, Dr. Hydow Park, could testify that the girl showed signs of blunt force trauma to the head (of which there was no dispute) and that she died as a result of a homicide by unspecified means.

Park testified in a pre-trial motion to suppress evidence that Gregory died of asphyxiation — a loss of consciousness and a lack of oxygen to the brain. He could not rule out strangulation or suffocation, the doctor said.

Jack Fuller, 39, of Howell is charged with the girl's murder. Fuller sat motionless during the arguments Thursday in Su-perior Court while the medical examiner reviewed pictures of Gregory, whose body was unearthed from a shallow grave after 16 days of heat and heavy rain in July 2004.

Defense attorney John O. Goins argued to suppress the testimony about strangulation or suffocation. Goins said after the hearing the motion was important to determine a timeline of events leading up to the death. Executive Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Ronald F. DeLigny said he did not plan to ask the medical examiner to be more specific as to the cause of the asphyxiation during the trial scheduled for Oct. 25.

The doctor testified that Gregory may have been suffocated and it was the "most likely cause of death," but he could not say to a degree of certainty that she died of suffocation or strangulation.

Park testified that the girl had been tested to see if she had used any drugs or controlled dangerous substances and none were found.

There was a level detected of ethanol, or alcohol, expected to be present at that stage of the body's state after having been buried in the ground in Lakewood. She was found not far from Fuller's Howell home.

Park said that even if a person were to die of asphyxiation for any reason, that reason may not be clear.

Without clear signs, such as a gun shot, knife wound or ruptured artery, it is not always possible to determine the exact means of death, Park said.

Goins also asked if the girl's hyoid bone, a small bone in the throat, was intact and Park said that it was. The bone is more likely to be broken in a strangulation but it is rare and most likely would happen in an older victim, Park said.

Authorities said in previous court proceedings that the evidence includes the victim's blood found in Fuller's car; and an audiotape on which he tells a police informant he killed "a white girl from Brick" and asked the informant if 4 feet was deep enough to bury a body; and said he had to "take out" an acquaintance who knew about the body.

This article contains material from previous Press stories.

Margaret F. Bonafide; (732) 557-5740 or bonafide@app.com

Superior Court Judge Vincent J. Grasso has set an October 25th trial date for Jack Fuller, who is accused of murdering Brittney Gregory last year.

According to the Asbury Park Press, a conference was scheduled for today between Jack Fuller and his attorney to review the State's evidence against him. That evidence includes an audiotape (which Fuller's attorney, John Goins unsucessfully attempted to get excluded during pre-trial motions), and DNA evidence.

This means that a plea deal could still be reached in this case.

Published in the Asbury Park Press 09/13/05

BY KATHLEEN HOPKINS
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

TOMS RIVER — A Superior Court judge on Monday scheduled a trial for next month for the man accused of killing 16-year-old Brittney Gregory of Brick last year.

Judge Vincent J. Grasso set Oct. 25 as the trial date for Jack Fuller, 39, of Howell, who is charged in a single-count indictment with murder.

Grasso said he had anticipated implementing a cutoff of any plea negotiations in the case on Monday, until he learned that Fuller had sent a letter to his attorney asking that he first be able to review some of the evidence the state has against him.

Grasso held off implementing the cutoff of plea negotiations until after Fuller's attorney, John Goins, can meet with his client and review the evidence, including DNA and evidence on audiotape. That means there is still a possibility Fuller could avoid trial by pleading guilty.

Grasso scheduled a conference between Goins and Fuller for 9 a.m. today.

The evidence includes the victim's blood found in Fuller's car, and an audiotape on which he tells a police informant he killed "a white girl from Brick," asked the informant if 4 feet was deep enough to bury a body, and said he had to "take out" an acquaintance who knew about the body.

Gregory, a straight-A student who had just completed her sophomore year at Brick Township Memorial High School, was reported missing by her family on July 11, 2004.

In the ensuing two weeks, hundreds of law-enforcement officers combed at least 20 heavily wooded and swampy areas around Howell, Brick and Lakewood looking for her, many of them volunteering their time.

On July 27, 2004, authorities with bloodhounds found Gregory's body in a shallow grave just under a power line off Ridge Avenue in Lakewood, about 1 1/2 miles from Fuller's house and not far from where the victim lived with her father, Joseph Dunn, in Brick.

Fuller was arrested July 18, 2004, before Gregory's body had been found. He was charged with murder in a single-count indictment in February.

One thing that has not been scheduled in the case is a hearing at which Dr. Hydow Park, Atlantic County's medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Gregory, will be asked to testify about his medical findings.

Goins has filed a motion asking Grasso to bar the prosecution from presenting any argument that Gregory may have been strangled or suffocated. He argues in the motion that any discussion of strangulation or suffocation should be barred from the trial because Park did not provide a cause of death, but instead only said that suffocation or strangulation could not be ruled out.

In response to Goins' motion, Executive Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Ronald F. DeLigny has argued in court papers that Park ruled the death a homicide but could not specify the exact cause or rule out suffocation or strangulation "based upon the decomposed nature of the victim's body that was in the ground for approximately 16 days."

At pretrial hearings on July 15, Grasso said he could not rule on Goins' motion to exclude discussion of strangulation or suffocation from the case until after hearing from Park.

Fuller remains in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, unable to post $1 million bail. If convicted, he would face 30 years to life in prison.