GUILTY NJ - Brendan Tevlin, 19, shot to death, West Orange, 25 June 2014

He texted his mom he was on his way home, then nothing until his body was found full of bullets.

Brendan Tevlin, 19, of Livingston, New Jersey, was home for the summer after his freshman year of college when police discovered his body riddled with bullets in the seat of a Jeep Liberty in the parking lot of an apartment building.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-A-student-targeted-murder.html#ixzz35rB39lKr
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They are saying its not random (LE) but from all accounts there is nothing to show the motive for this tragedy.

Here is his facebook, not much help but im not a good facebooker, maybe others can find some info. https://www.facebook.com/brendan.tevlin?fref=browse_search

From all appearances, he seemed to be a wonderful, kind-hearted young man. It's not often that you see a 19 year olf lad who is so incolved in the well-being of those less fortunate than himself.

What a dreadful tragedy. My prayers are with the family.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/model-college-student-found-shot-dead-suv-parked-n-parking-lot-cops-article-1.1846202

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Before leaving a pal’s house Wednesday, Tevlin texted his mom and told her he was on his way. But he never made it home.

Alerted by reports of gunshots, police found Tevlin about midnight dead in the parking lot of an apartment complex in West Orange, N.J., that is less than a mile from Seton Hall Prep, from which he graduated the year before.

Both the passenger’s and driver's seat windows were shattered, cops said.

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I just saw this article while ago. How sad.

I wonder if robbery could be the motive. Seems like it happened in such a short time frame because he texted his mother before leaving a friend's house but never made it home. Did he stop to help someone who appeared in need? Someone, perhaps, preying on Good Samaritans?

How tragic! Mistaken identity?

Was the Jeep Liberty his car? It says in the articles he was found in a Jeep Liberty, which makes it sound that it wasn't his. If so, who's car was it?

ETA: oh ok, I just saw the car belonged to a family member.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that may lead to an arrest in the murder of a 19-year-old college student who prosecutors say was targeted.

Authorities found his car about a mile from the house where he had spent the evening.

"He was either hijacked and dumped there or he was on his last breath and just pulled over," an unidentified resident who lives in the area told the Post.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/2...r-information-in-targeted-killing-nj-college/

everytime i come pass this thread topic i read the headline mystery in murder and think HuH someone needs to correct the name for this thread..

colette said:

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that may lead to an arrest in the murder of a 19-year-old college student who prosecutors say was targeted.

Authorities found his car about a mile from the house where he had spent the evening.

"He was either hijacked and dumped there or he was on his last breath and just pulled over," an unidentified resident who lives in the area told the Post.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/2...r-information-in-targeted-killing-nj-college/

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BBM I wonder if he knew anyone who lived at that apartment complex where his vehicle was found. I'm sure LE is searching his cell phone and computer for any connections to that address. And, for any messages he might have received by text or phone call after speaking with his mother.

Authorities said Tevlin was found dead about 1:30 a.m. in the driver’s seat of a Land Rover 4×4 parked in an apartment complex near Walker Road and Northfield Avenue in West Orange.

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http://wtvr.com/2014/06/26/university-of-richmond-student-brendan-tevlin-found-dead/

Another thought:

When LE says he was targeted, does that imply Brendan knew his assailant or just that it wasn't a random shooting, i.e., a drive-by?

I suppose it would be considered targeted if the killer intended to rob BT, or would it? Or, it could be a case of road rage in which another driver went after him specifically because they didn't like something he did.

Here is a map of the route he would have taken, supposing he dropped his friends off at the home where they played video games, after leaving the 7-Eleven in South Orange:

https://goo.gl/maps/pt8PN

I'm really inclined to think that this was a case of road rage and Brendan pulled into the apartment parking lot to allow the other car to go around him, and maybe to call police. Instead, IMO, the enraged driver pulled into the lot after him and started firing. Or, is there something else that happened with his friends that police already know about?

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Brendan had just left a friend's Florence Place home in West Orange and was heading back to his home in Livingston after stopping at a South Orange Seven Eleven with friends around midnight. Something went very wrong when he was brutally shot and killed near Walker Road and Northfield Avenue.

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http://thealternativepress.com/articles/community-rallies-around-family-of-brendan-tevlin

Wait! This article says he was found in a parking lot a mile east of where he was shot! That means he backtracked a ways after he was shot.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/06/livingstone_college_students_shooting_death_in_west_orange_remains_mystery_48_hours_later.html

That article is more in-depth. It even answers part of my question about whether targeted simply means not random:

The 19-year-old college student was found dead inside the family's Jeep Liberty in an apartment parking lot about a mile east of where he was shot.

"The investigation is very active," said Anthony Ambrose, the chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. "This appears to be an isolated incident. It doesn't appear to be random."

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Community Rallies Around Family of Brendan Tevlin

Cynthia Cumming

Saturday, June 28, 2014 &#8226; 2:38pm

WEST ORANGE, NJ - As police continue the investigation into the death of Brendan Tevlin, the Livingston, West Orange, and Maplewood communities have rallied in support of his family.

Brendan Tevlin, 19, was found murdered in his family's Jeep Liberty (earlier accounts had said it was a 4x4 Land Rover) in the early morning hours of June 26. Brendan had just left a friend's Florence Place home in West Orange and was heading back to his home in Livingston after stopping at a South Orange Seven Eleven with friends around midnight. Something went very wrong when he was brutally shot and killed near Walker Road and Northfield Avenue.

Tevlin had just completed his first year at the University of Richmond and was home for the summer when the tragedy occurred, rocking the community and the Tevlin family. Brendan was a 2013 graduate of Seton Hall Prep and the SHP held a mass for Brendan on the afternoon of June 26. His friends sat together in shock and grief along with the Seton Hall Prep community.

An outpouring of support for the Tevlin family from a community devastasted from Brendan's death has followed, including opportunities to provide meals for the family and lemonade stands, where neighborhood children are raising money for the family. A candlelight vigil was held at the Livingston Oval on June 23 at 7:30 pm and was attended by hundreds.

For members of the community wishing to help, please visit the Meal Train website at http://www.mealtrain.com/?id=mcnxawta6mot. A L:emonade stand was held at Bennington and Village in Livingston, and another one is being held June 28 at Belmont and Spier, also in Livingston.

Tap Into West Orange will continue to provide updates as they become available.
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Maybe there is video surveillance evidence from the 7-11 in South Orange, NJ or other surrounding businesses.

Most Sincerely, MoeJoey

There is video from near where he was killed, and it shows someone running
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2...es_to_livingston_college_students_murder.html

So sad. He sounds like a really great guy. My husband and I have a place nearby (I could walk to the 7-11), and people are really in shock. Hopefully this will be solved quickly.

Guys that age are ALWAYS hungry, so it doesn't surprise me that they went out to get food. What DOES surprise me is where they went. I'm struggling with how to say this tactfully and so will be purposefully vague.

1) The "food" at 7-11 (60 Valley St. South Orange, NJ) is OK; the coffee is better. Any Diner is 100% better. There are many more places in South Orange, West Orange, Livingston that are open that time of night that are better.

2) Who drove, and did they all go? (My guess is Brendan dove, and they all went. That's what guys that age do.) LE knows these answers.

3) This 7-11 in South Orange Village is a 20 - 25 minute (depending upon speed), straight-shot drive down South Orange Ave. into downtown Newark, NJ.

It may be that the "car' was targeted, followed on the way back to West Orange/Livingston, attacked, something went horribly wrong (Brendan didn't give up and defended his property), the thieves/now murderers, panicked and ran.

Most Sincerely, MoeJoey

"The investigation is very active," said Anthony Ambrose, the chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. "This appears to be an isolated incident. It doesn't appear to be random."

************************************************************************Thank you Indy Anna for this quote. I'm confused. Can anyone help?

"isolated incident" "not random" So, does that mean that BRENDAN was specifically targeted, and it WASN'T a carjacking gone wrong? Or does it mean that THE CAR was specifically targeted, and as long as you don't drive THAT CAR, you're safe from these predators? Or, the fences give a list of cars that they have buyers for, and as long as you don't drive one of THOSE CARS (list unknown), you're "safe"?

I don't understand why there is no public rage. Granted, BT was not a poor kid, but he wasn't a rich kid either (To clarify, we're talking about his parents' "wealth" that BT benefited from.) He was a middle-class kid, working on his education, morals and values -successfully. And he did more in his short life to help the poor than most of us will ever do in our lifetimes. Maybe he sensed his life would be short.

So, his Parents did a fantastic job raising him for BIG things to come. And now nothing. We can't even calculate what we have lost as a society.

Most Sincerely, MoeJoey

Carjacking is certainly possible. There have been a few in the area. (There was one at the Short Hills Mall at Christmas-time, where the driver was killed, that drew national attention.)

I'm thinking he and his friends went to 7-11 together because it's open late, and it was almost midnight on a weeknight. Then he must have dropped them back off at home, and I guess took Walker to Northfield. The police seem to think something happened at that intersection. Normally, you'd take a left to go back to Livingston, but his car, with him in it, was found a mile down to the right, at an apartment complex. (On the map Indy Anna posted, it's right about at the bend on Northfield Ave.)

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2..._of_multiple_gunshot_wounds_autopsy_says.html

Yes, everything you said makes total sense. Dustin Friedland at the Short Hills Mall didn't capitulate to the carjackers, because his wife was in the car. One of the thieves pulled a gun, and Dustin paid the price with his life.

It just occurred to me that this could be the same Gang of Thieves! The distance is VERY close. I am certain that this fact hasn't escaped LE's astute attention!

Most Sincerely, MoeJoey

How do they know he was shot in a different location than where he was found?

Does that mean he was alive after being shot, then pulled into a parking lot and died there? Why didn't he call 911 if he was shot but still alert?

Sorry if this has been explained already.

From what I read, neighbors near the first intersection heard gunshots, and there was broken glass. (The car window?) Articles say he died there (I'm not sure how they know), so I guess someone else drove.

Confusing. If someone else drove, they left him there to die, or dead. Horrible.

From T-rex's link;

Yesterday, lead detectives walked the sites where the Livingston man was last seen alive: a friend&#8217;s house in West Orange, the major intersection where he was shot multiple times and killed, and the apartment building parking lot a mile to the east where his body was left in his family&#8217;s Jeep Liberty, according to authorities.


He was shot at a major intersection, there must have been shell casings there. Could be a car jacking or robbery attempt ...