A Brick Township woman is behind bars facing a murder charge after authorities say she came to Brick police headquarters with her lawyer to turn herself in. The victim was her fiance, prosecutors say.
Ciara Williams, 27, of Brick, is charged with murder and weapons offenses in the death of her boyfriend, Dennis Power, 35, of Brick. According to prosecutors, Power was driven to the hospital on Saturday night by a woman who left the scene before police arrived. Hospital staff responded to the vehicle and found Power unconscious but breathing inside of the vehicle. He was rushed inside the facility and lifesaving efforts were attempted, but they were not able to save his life.
According to a statement from prosecutors Tuesday morning, a subsequent investigation revealed that the person who had driven Mr. Power to the hospital was his fiancé, identified as Williams. An extensive search for Williams was conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. The murder was thought to have been committed at a unit in the Brick Gardens apartment complex off Hooper Avenue, where there has been a heightened police presence since the alleged crime occurred.
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“We believe, through our investigation, that Williams stabbed Mr. Power in the chest during an argument at the residence,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. “She then drove him to the hospital and returned to the residence.”
Williams surrendered herself with her attorney present on Monday evening, Sept. 30, at the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. She was then processed at Brick Township Police Headquarters. Williams is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.