In the fall of 2016, a 33-year-old woman named Joanne Brown from Newark, New Jersey, tragically became a victim in a string of senseless acts of violence. She was last seen alive on October 22, 2016, and was reported missing later that month. For weeks, her whereabouts remained a mystery, leaving her loved ones in a state of agonizing uncertainty.
The search for Joanne Brown came to a grim conclusion on December 5, 2016.
A work crew discovered her body inside a vacant house located in the 300 block of Highland Avenue in the city of Orange. An autopsy would later reveal that the cause of her death was asphyxiation, and the manner of her death was ruled a homicide.
The investigation into Joanne's death soon led authorities to a suspect named Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, a 20-year-old man from Orange. He was subsequently charged with one count of murder and one count of disturbing human remains in connection with her death. The investigation further revealed that Wheeler-Weaver was a serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least two other women, Sarah Butler and Robin West, and the attempted murder of another. He was known to use dating apps to lure his victims. Following his trial, Khalil Wheeler-Weaver was convicted and sentenced to 160 years in prison for his crimes.
