On a summer morning in August 2018, the body of 38-year-old Shafequa Cooper, a Black female from Irvington, New Jersey, was discovered by a passing motorist. Her body had been left on Krotik Place in Irvington, near the site of the old Irvington General Hospital. Initially, it was unclear where the tragic event had taken place, but investigators quickly determined that she had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force took the lead in the investigation. As they pieced together the evidence, it became apparent that Cooper had not been killed in Irvington. The investigation revealed that the murder had actually occurred in the neighboring city of Orange, specifically in the area of Valley Street and Argyle Avenue. Her death was then classified as a homicide belonging to Orange, not Irvington.
This was reportedly the second time a homicide victim from another locality had been left in Irvington.
Within a month of the discovery of Cooper's body, a suspect was identified and apprehended. On September 18, 2018, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced the arrest of 37-year-old Darren Black of East Orange. He was taken into custody in Princeton by detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide-Major Crimes Task Force and the FBI Fugitive Task Force. Black was charged with murder, concealment and removing human remains, illegal possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was subsequently held at the Essex County Correctional Facility.
