Anonymous Crime Tip Form

Blog

Home/Press Release/SON PLEADS GUILTY IN MOTHER’S MURDER
Brian Keith Cassidy

SON PLEADS GUILTY IN MOTHER’S MURDER

Lakewood, N.J. – Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced that yesterday (8/17) Brian Cassidy, 43, of Lakewood entered a guilty plea before Judge Wendel E. Daniels, P.J.Cr.P. in the June 2013 murder of his mother Gail Conway, 61, also of Lakewood.

On June 25, 2013 just after 8:00am, Lakewood Police Dispatch Center received a call requesting a wellbeing check at 3C Sumac Court, Lakewood for Gail Conway. The caller was Conway’s work supervisor at a CVS Pharmacy in Toms River, New Jersey. The supervisor was concerned that Conway had not reported for work and was not answering her phone.

Officers from Lakewood Police Department arrived at the Sumac Court address and received no answer at the front door. They proceeded to enter the residence and found a deceased female lying in bed, later identified as Gail Conway. Blood evidence and the condition of the body made it clear that Conway was the victim of a homicide. The officers secured the scene and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Criminalistics Investigation Unit, Ocean County Prosecutors Office, and the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office were summoned to assist in the investigation.

Detective’s processing the scene observed a burgundy Nissan Sentra with a New Jersey registration YVG-82D parked unoccupied in the driveway of the residence. A check of the registration showed that it belonged to Conway’s son Brian Cassidy, then age 41, who they later learned also resides at the residence. Further investigation found that the victim’s vehicle, a Grey 2013 Honda Civic was missing.

At approximately 5:29pm, Lakewood Police Detective Jason Pederson observed the victims vehicle travelling on Lakewood-Allenwood Road in Howell Township. The vehicle then turned into Deerwood Park and pulled into a parking space near the park hockey rink. A white male, who Detective Pederson identified as Brian K. Cassidy, the victim’s son, exited the vehicle and began to walk a dog near the wood line of the park. Detective Pederson kept a visual on Cassidy until additional units arrived. Cassidy was taken into custody without incident and transported back to the Lakewood Police Department.

With Cassidy in custody and a medical examiner’s report citing death due to head trauma, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lakewood Police Department were able to piece together events that led to Gail Conway’s death and confirm Cassidy’s role in the murder.

Brian Cassidy is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6, 2015. His bail at the time of his arrest was set at one million dollars cash by Superior Court Judge Wendel Daniels. He has been continuously incarcerated in the Ocean County Jail since the time of his June 26th arrest.

Det. Leroy Marshall of the Lakewood Police Department and Thomas Tiernan of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office were the lead detectives on the case. The Lakewood Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department all contributed to the investigation.

This case is being prosecuted by Ocean County Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Armstrong. Dawn Marie Nee is the Deputy Public Defender who represented the defendant. Monica Schuler of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Victim-Witness Advocate has provided family support and assistance throughout the proceedings.

Brian Keith CassidyBRIAN KEITH CASSIDY

Follow the Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor online at Twitter and Facebook. The social media links provided are for reference only. The OCPO does not endorse any non-governmental websites, companies or applications. For additional information visit our website at oceancountyprosecutor.org.