June 10, 2008: Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Esq., Deputy Chief of Investigations William Schievella, and Jefferson Township Chief of Police John Palko, Jr. announce that Demetrius Diaz-Bridges, who has been charged with Murder and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in connection with the murder of Elizabeth O'Brien, has been extradited from the Wake County Jail in Raleigh, North Carolina to the Morris County Correctional Facility.

On January 30, 2008 at approximately 5:27 pm, a call was received by the Jefferson Township Police Department requesting assistance at a Nolan's Point Road residence in Jefferson. Upon the arrival of the Jefferson Township Police Department, they found Elizabeth O'Brien, age 49, deceased within her residence.

On January 31, 2008 Morris County Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Carlos Fonseca conducted an autopsy and determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

The investigation revealed that at the time of the murder, Demetrius M. Diaz-Bridges, age 19, lived at 150 Nolan's Point Road. He was a neighbor of Elizabeth O'Brien and a friend of one of her two sons. It was also determined that Mr. Bridges stayed at Mrs. O'Brien's residence at 120 Nolan's Point Road on the night of January 29-30, 2008.

On May 2, 2008 Detectives from the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Morris County Sheriff's Office and Jefferson Township Police Department located Mr. Bridges in Raleigh. On May 2, 2008 Judge John Triarsi J.S.C. (Union County) authorized the warrant charging Mr. Bridges with First Degree Murder and Third Degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose. He set the defendant's bail at $1,000,000.00.

The defendant is scheduled to make a first appearance before Judge Ahto tomorrow morning, June 11, 2008.

Prosecutor Bianchi stated "We moved with the greatest possible speed under the system which included securing a Governor's Warrant for extradition in New Jersey; having same delivered to the governor of North Carolina; and interfacing with the District Attorney's office in North Carolina to arrange for and process the extradition. The paperwork was filed with an opportunity for the defendant to object and to our knowledge no objection was submitted by the defendant, causing the North Carolina courts to grant permission for New Jersey authorities to remove the defendant from their venue to New Jersey.

Immediately upon notification of the signing of the order, I dispatched Morris County Prosecutor's Office detectives, along with officers from the Jefferson Township Police Department and the Morris County Sheriff's Office to effectuate the immediate return of the defendant to answer these very serious charges. As of 4:40pm, the defendant and detectives arrived safely in Morris County and the defendant has been incarcerated in the Morris County Correctional Facility."

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-6200, the Jefferson Township Police Department at 973-697-1300 or the Morris County Sheriff's CrimeStoppers Program at 973-267-2255.

Despite these pending charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a jury trial at which the defendant has all of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions and relevant state law.

Media Contact: Agent Robyn D'Onofrio