In the quiet early morning hours of July 17, 2018, in Bridgeton, New Jersey, a devastating tragedy unfolded that would claim the life of 9-year-old Jennifer Trejo. While sleeping soundly in her bed on Church Street, a stray bullet pierced through the rear wall of her family's home and struck her. The shooting, which occurred around 12:30 a.m., originated from a block away near Elmer and Walnut streets.
Her parents, in a frantic effort to save her, rushed her to a nearby hospital, but she was pronounced dead a short time later.
The senseless death of the young girl prompted an intensive investigation by the Bridgeton Police Department and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office. Investigators found numerous 9 mm shell casings in the area of the shooting, indicating that multiple shots had been fired. A reward of $10,000 was offered for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The community, heartbroken and fearful, held a vigil for Jennifer as authorities pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
In late August 2018, the investigation culminated in the arrests of three men. Michael L. Elliott, 25, Leroy Frazier III, 20, and Charles Gamble, 18, were taken into custody and charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and weapons offenses. Authorities reported that the arrests were made without incident and that search warrants executed at the residences of Elliott and Frazier yielded a handgun, as well as quantities of suspected heroin and crack cocaine, leading to additional drug and weapons charges.
The legal process that followed brought some measure of justice for Jennifer's family. In February 2020, Leroy Frazier III was the first of the defendants to be sentenced. A jury acquitted him of murder but found him guilty of aggravated manslaughter, conspiracy, and aggravated assault. A Cumberland County judge sentenced Frazier to a 42-year prison term, requiring him to serve at least 85 percent of that sentence before being eligible for parole. During the sentencing, a statement from Jennifer's father, Ruben Trejo, was read, in which he described the night his daughter died in his arms as 'the darkest night of our lives.' The trials for the other two defendants were to follow.
