Tyrita Julius and Jennifer Sweeney had been friends, but now Julius is dead and Sweeney is charged with her murder
ELIZABETH -- From their cells in the Monmouth County jail, Andre Harris and Jennifer Sweeney will now await grand juries in two counties to determine if they face indictment for the alleged attempted murder and the subsequent alleged murder of Tyrita Juluis.
Julius, a 41-year-old Linden mother of two, and Sweeney, 33, of Tinton Falls, had been friends, according to Julius' relatives, but last March the older woman was reported missing. Last week, Sweeney and Harris, 32 were charged with the killing.
Here is how the case unfolded:
- Julius and Sweeney met through the Middlesex County chapter of the Ruff Ryders motorcycle club, bonding over club nights at the TGIF restaurant in Linden, according to the Linden woman's family. Sweeney would show up at family functions, but some relatives thought her strange.
- Nov. 24, 2015: Julius and her than 15-year-old daughter, Chanel, were getting in their car in front of their Linden home when a man walked up and started shooting. The mother was critically injured. The daughter had a graze wound to her face.
- Feb. 12, 2016: As police are investigating the shooting, Andre Harris, 32, of Long Branch is arrested on a charge of illegally obtaining prescription narcotics. A Union County assistant prosecutor would later note that Harris was released without bail on the drug charge, one month before Julius was killed.
- In March, Julius, still recovering from four gunshot wounds, goes to visit a friend in Tinton Falls, and never returns. Her family reports her missing.
- March 20: With still no word about Julius' whereabouts, family and friends gather for a vigil.
- The next month, in April, as police intensify their search, the family makes an impassioned plea for help in locating Julius.
- Aug. 16: The Monmouth County Prosecutor's office announces a man and woman were arrested and charged with killing Julius after the missing woman was found wrapped in a tarp and buried in a Long Branch backyard.
- Aug. 17: Sweeney and Harris appear in court in Monmouth County on charges of murder. They are also charged with attempted murder for the November shooting in Linden.
- Aug. 18: Residents along Joline Avenue in Long Branch are left with questions about their neighbor, Harris, and the discovery of Julius' body behind his house. Prosecutors have not disclosed a motive in the killing or say what led them to find the body.
- Aug. 20: Family and friends of the slain woman hold a spirited fundraising dinner, with all the proceeds collected to help Julius' two daughters.
- Aug. 24: Prosecutors state in their complaints filed in court against Sweeney and Harris that the two defendants conspired in a murder-for-hire plan to kill Julius. Sweeney's lawyer says witnesses told police that Sweeney was not near either the Linden shooting or the killing of Julius in Long Branch.
- Aug. 25: A judge in Monmouth County, where Sweeney faces a murder charge, agrees to lower her bail from $1.5 million to $1.25 million and allows her to post of bail bond instead of paying all cash.
- Aug. 26: At Harris' first hearing in Union County for the attempted murder charges, a Union County assistant prosecutor discloses that Harris was arrested on a drug charge in February and released without bail. The prosecutor opposes any reduction in bail.