A 49-year-old Florida man hired and bribed a man and a woman to go to New Jersey to carry out an acid assault on a lady with whom he had a previous connection, according to officials.
William DiBernardino, of Boynton Beach, was arrested last week in Florida, along with the two people he hired, Betty Jo Lane, 38, and Jmarr McNeil, 39, both of Jacksonville, in connection with the July 26 attack, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey.
According to the prosecutor’s office, all three have waived extradition and are currently being held in Florida until they can be transported to New Jersey.
They face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, stalking, and unauthorized possession of a firearm. It was not immediately known whether they had counsel or where they were imprisoned. The Monroe Police Department did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
According to Tom Gilbert, the acting chief of detectives for the prosecutor’s office, the woman’s connection with DiBernardino terminated within the previous year in a fashion that officials believe “he was unhappy with.”
“We’re very confident he enlisted these people to carry out his wishes, which they did, and that’s why all three of them are charged,” Gilbert said in a phone interview Thursday.
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The 42-year-old lady was attacked last month after returning home from work in Monroe Township, southern New Jersey, and parking in her driveway, according to the prosecutor’s office. As she unlocked her car door, a lady approached her and hurled a cup containing “a highly caustic acid” at her, according to prosecutors. She had chemical burns on 35% of her body and was taken to a burn clinic, where she is currently being treated.
The lady who flung the acid escaped in a vehicle subsequently discovered to have been hired in Florida, according to authorities.
Members of the Monroe Police Department and the prosecutor’s office proceeded to Florida, where they were aided in their investigation by the Boynton Beach Police Department, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Fort Pierce Police Department, and the United States Marshals Service, among others.