A New Jersey man was indicted Wednesday for murder and the desecration of human remains in connection to the death of a woman whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase.
Steven Stallworth, 28, of Pleasantville, was indicted by the Atlantic County Grand Jury for the murder of Tara Alicea, 30, of Monroeville, New Jersey.
On January 5, 2014, around 1:30 p.m., a hunter found Alicea’s remains in the woods behind the Shore Mall site near Broadway Avenue in Egg Harbor Township. The hunter called police in Atlantic County and officers responded to the scene.
Investigators identified Alicea as the victim after releasing photographs of tattoos on her body. The State Medical Examiner’s Office determined Alicea died from asphyxiation by strangulation and her death was ruled a homicide.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Egg Harbor Township Police, Pleasantville Police and the FBI conducted an investigation and ultimately identified Stallworth as the murder suspect. He was arrested without incident on August 5, 2014.
Stallworth was charged and lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility where he has remained in lieu of $2,000,000 full cash bail.
