NEWARK–A Hartford man is wanted in the murder of a student from New Jersey.
On April 10 Shani Patel, 21, of New Jersey, was murdered and robbed in his off-campus apartment at Rutgers University, the main state university of New Jersey.
Last week, police arrested Marcus Feliz, 25, of Newark in connection to Patel’s murder. Since then, Essex County Police have determined that a second man, Fraynned Ramirez, 26, of Hartford, was involved in the murder as well.
Neither Ramirez nor Feliz are Rutgers students.
Feliz was charged with murder, felony murder and robbery. In New Jersey, murder is defined as purposely causing the death of another, but “felony murder” means the murder took place during another crime–in this case robbery–so the prosecution doesn’t need to prove that the suspect had intent to murder the victim. Feliz is being held on $750,000 bond.
A warrant has been issued for Ramirez charging him with the same crimes, with bail set at the same amount.
It is unknown where Ramierz may be, whether he remained in New Jersey or went home to Hartford. There are three separate cases and more than a dozen charges pending against Ramirez in Hartford, including assault, risk of injury to a child and possession of narcotics. Those arrests all took place in 2015.
The Essex County Sheriff’s Crimestoppers Program is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Ramirez’s arrest. If you have any information, call 877-847-7432.
