In the late afternoon of a crisp autumn day, the life of 29-year-old Andy Rozelien, a male resident of Linden, New Jersey, was tragically cut short. On Monday, October 26, 2020, shortly before 3:30 p.m., police responded to the 1600 block of East St. Georges Avenue. There, they found Rozelien suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth but was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
The investigation into the fatal shooting was swift. Led by the Union County Homicide Task Force, with assistance from the Linden Police Department, the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, and the Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit, a suspect was quickly identified. Ashton Barthelus, who was 25 at the time and also a Linden resident, was arrested just days later.
He was charged with first-degree murder and two related weapons offenses for his role in Rozelien's death.
Ultimately, Barthelus pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter on July 8, 2022. On October 14, 2022, a judge sentenced him to 22 years in state prison. Under the terms of his sentence, Barthelus is required to serve at least 85 percent of his term before he becomes eligible for parole. While incarcerated awaiting trial for the murder of Rozelien, Barthelus was also charged in the stabbing death of a fellow inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility in December 2021.
