FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Caitlin Mota
PHONE: (201) 577-6699
EMAIL: cmota@hcpo.org
DATE: Friday, May 19, 2023
MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER FOR DEATH OF LINDENWOLD WOMAN
Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:
On Friday, May 19, 2023, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit charged a 35-year-old man in connection with the death of Norelis Mendoza, who was found deceased in Bayonne on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
Gregory Mallard, of Jersey City, is charged with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(1)/(2), a crime of the first degree; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (vehicle) in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5d, a crime of the fourth degree; Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (vehicle) in violation of N.J.S.A. 39-4d, a crime of the third degree; Failing to Dispose of Human Remains in a Manner Prescribed by Law in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:22-1b, a crime of the third degree; Desecration of Human Remains in violation of N.J.S.A. 22-1a(1), a crime of the second degree; Hindering in violation of N.J.SA. 2C:29-3b, a crime of the third degree; and Tampering with Physical Evidence in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:28-6a(1), a crime of the fourth degree. He is currently in custody in Somerset County. This matter is being investigated as an act of domestic violence.
On Sunday, May 14, 2023, the Jersey City Police Department received a missing person report for a 32-year-old Lindenwold woman who was last seen in Jersey City on Saturday, May 13, 2023. During the course of the investigation, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit – with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department, Bayonne Police Department, and New Jersey State Police – located the lifeless body of a female, later identified as Norelis Mendoza, 32, of Lindenwold, off of Route 440 near the Jersey City border on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. She was pronounced dead at the scene. This investigation is active and ongoing and no additional information will be released at this time.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit, Jersey City Police Department, New Jersey State Police, Bayonne Police Department, and multiple state and local law enforcement agencies with the investigation and arrest. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: https://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential. The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).