On a summer evening, just before 5 p.m. on July 9, 2025, the life of 53-year-old Anthony Sanflippo was tragically cut short in the doorway of his apartment at the Lakeview Apartment complex in Gloucester Township, New Jersey. Multiple witnesses reported hearing a knock on his door immediately followed by a single gunshot. When police arrived at the scene on the 500 block of Lower Landing Road, they discovered Sanflippo deceased from a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed to a suspect who lived in the same apartment building, one floor below Sanflippo. Witnesses described the assailant as a man wearing a black surgical mask, a head garment with tassels, a long-sleeved black shirt, green pants, and white-and-yellow Crocs. Following the shooting, the suspect stole a vehicle from a witness at the apartment complex and fled the state.
This detailed description, particularly the distinctive headwear that one witness noted he always wore, helped authorities identify their person of interest as 24-year-old Matthew Lucas.
Four days after the fatal shooting, on July 13, 2025, the stolen vehicle was spotted by New York City police on West 49th Street. Matthew Lucas was arrested a block away for an unrelated crime. At the time of his arrest, he was still wearing the black surgical mask and the unique head garment with tassels. A search of his person and the stolen vehicle uncovered crucial evidence linking him directly to Sanflippo's murder. Police found the key to the stolen car, a. 45 caliber handgun, and a pair of green pants stained with what appeared to be blood inside the vehicle.
Forensic analysis later confirmed that the. 45 caliber shell casing found at the scene of the crime was a match to the handgun recovered from Lucas at the time of his arrest. Subsequently, on July 15, 2025, Matthew Lucas was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Sanflippo, as well as second-degree weapons offenses. He was initially held at Rikers Island in New York, awaiting extradition back to New Jersey to face the charges against him. The motive for the killing has not been publicly disclosed.
