A Monmouth County grand jury has returned a seven-count indictment, adding charges of murder and felony murder, against a Sayreville man in connection with the 2018 killing of a 56-year-old photojournalist Jerry Wolkowitz, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Monday. 

Jamil S. Hubbard, 26, of Sayreville, is now charged with first-degree murder and first-degree felony murder in connection with the May 1, 2018 attack on Wolkowitz in the parking lot of his Freehold Township apartment. Wolkowitz, a longtime area photojournalist who had been hospitalized since the assault, died on Oct. 18, 2018 as a result of injuries sustained in the attack.

The case background …

Freehold Township Police were dispatched to the Harding Road apartment complex in Freehold Township at about 7:15 a.m. on May 1, 2018. Responding officers observed the Wolkowitz, a resident of the complex, lying in the parking lot area with injuries to his head and body. 

A joint investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Freehold Township Police Department revealed that Hubbard approached the victim from behind, hitting him with his fists on his head and face, before dragging him into the parking lot.

The defendant then drove his motor vehicle over the victim. Hubbard then stole the victim’s car, which was later discovered abandoned on Bordentown Avenue in Sayreville. 

Hubbard was apprehended at his home later that same day by Sayreville police. The investigation determined that the defendant did not know or have any previous contact with the victim prior to this attack. Hubbard has remained incarcerated pending trial since his May 2018 arrest. 

The grand jury previously returned an indictment against Hubbard related to the assault on July 9, 2018, prior to the victim succumbing to his injuries. 

Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Katherine Butler and Keri-Leigh Schaefer are handling the case for the State.