Joseph Villani is accused of fatally shooting Trupal Patel, whose body was later found at Shark River Park in Wall Township
FREEHOLD -- An Ocean Township man told investigators he killed a Brick Township resident before stealing his watch and car, according to police documents.
Trupal Patel, who was found dead Feb. 22Joseph Villani, 20, initially denied knowing anything about the death of Trupal Patel, but eventually told investigators "I did it," according to the Ocean Township Police Department's affidavit of probable cause filed against Villani.
He also told his girlfriend he killed Patel and he told a friend he wanted to rob him, the document said.
Prosecutors are expected to use that document, and possibly others, in a hearing Thursday morning to try to convince a judge that Villani, who was charged Feb. 24 with Patel's death, should not be released from jail.
Patel, 29, was found dead Feb. 22 along Gully Road in Shark River Park in Wall Township by a Monmouth County park ranger collecting litter. Patel was shot three times and his body was wrapped in a blue blanket, according to the police document.
His Jaguar was found abandoned in Asbury Park nearly two weeks earlier when a friend reported him missing.
Man faces murder charge after body found in Wall park
Villani became a suspect in Patel's death after investigators spoke to a friend of Villani, the document said.
In the hours leading up to Villani's arrest, his friend told investigators he helped Villani move what he later learned was Patel's 2003 Jaguar on Feb. 7, according to the affidavit.
The friend said Villani told him he needed help moving the car because the brakes needed to be repaired, the document said. The friend, who said Villani bought marijuana from Patel, recognized the car from a photograph circulated by police after Patel was reported missing, the document said.
With that information, investigators went to Villani. He initially denied being in Patel's car but then told investigators he stole the car and a watch that was in it, the document said.
Pressing him further, investigators asked him about his involvement in Patel's death. Villani, whom investigators noted had Patel's Movado watch, eventually told detectives several times "I did it" but he didn't say why, the document said.
Villani's girlfriend told detectives Villani told her that while in his garage on Feb. 5, he and Patel "got physical" and Villani shot him in the head, the document said.
Villani didn't tell his girlfriend what he did with Patel's body, but he showed her blood on the garage floor, the document said. She said Villani had talked loosely in the past about robbing Patel but she didn't take him seriously, the affidavit said.
Villani's best friend told investigators that in the six months before Patel went missing, Villani, who expressed an interest in robbing Patel, asked him questions about how much marijuana and money Patel had and what type of car he drove, according to the affidavit.
The friend told investigators he gave Villani Patel's contact information about a week before Patel disappeared, the document said.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.