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UNION COUNTY

Warrant issued for man in cemetery chicken decapitation

By Cheryl Makin@CherylMakin
  • Police issued arrest warrant for Leonard L. Edwards, Jr., 41, of Wharton.
  • Edwards is charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and animal cruelty.
  • He was seen decapitating chickens and smearing blood on gravesites.

LINDEN – Police have issued an arrest warrant for Leonard L. Edwards, Jr., 41, of Wharton on charges of unlawful possession of a weapon, a fourth degree crime, and animal cruelty, for needlessly killing and mutilating a live animal, said Linden police Captain James Sarnicki.

Sarnicki said that at 4 p.m. on July 31, Edwards was seen using several machetes to decapitate and kill several chickens in the Rosehill Cemetery on Routes 1 and 9. He then placed the dead animals by some gravesites and smeared blood on the headstones, before fleeing the cemetery in his car.

Based on evidence left at the scene and information obtained during a weeklong investigation by Linden Detective Michael Burnette, an arrest warrant was obtained for Edwards, Sarnicki said.

Conviction of a fourth degree crime can result in a sentence of up to 18 months in jail and $10,000 in fines. Animal cruelty is a disorderly persons offense resulting in a lesser penalty.

Investigators believe the incident was some type of religious or cultural ritual, Sarnicki said.

Anyone with information on Edwards or this case is asked to contact Burnette at 908-474-8535 or email crimetips@lpdnj.org.

Staff Writer Cheryl Makin: 732-565-7256; cmakin@mycentraljersey.com