Man accused of beating woman to death with baseball bat in Westville, New Jersey

6abc Digital Staff Image
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Man accused of beating woman to death with baseball bat in Westville, New Jersey
A Westville, New Jersey man is facing murder charges in connection with the beating death of a woman over the weekend.

WESTVILLE, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A Westville, New Jersey man is facing murder charges in connection with the beating death of a woman over the weekend.

According to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, Jose L. Saez allegedly murdered 53-year-old Patricia Dorman inside her residence located on the 600 block of Broadway on Sunday around 1:25 p.m.

An autopsy conducted on Monday by the medical examiner ruled Dorman's cause of death as blunt force trauma and the manner of death to be homicide.

According to charging documents, Saez allegedly beat Dorman with a wooden baseball bat. Saez then allegedly disposed of the bat in a parking lot dumpster near the victim's residence. The bat was later recovered by officers.

The documents also reveal that Saez was caught on video leaving the scene with the bat and the victim's television. Authorities say the television, which was sold to an employee of a business nearby, was later recovered.

Saez was arrested in Camden on Tuesday. He is facing charges of murder, felony murder, robbery and other related charges.

"The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Westville Police Department, under the leadership of Chief William Whinna, have been working tirelessly since the inception of this investigation. Through hard work, tenacity, and determination they promptly identified Saez as a suspect and developed key evidence linking him to the homicide. Patricia Dorman was well known by her neighbors and the cooperation and assistance from the Westville community was crucial in the arrest of Saez," stated Acting Gloucester County Prosecutor Christine Hoffman.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office at 609-254-2433 or Detective Eric Hibbs of the Westville Police Department at 609-374-4737.