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

[Blondie in Spokane]

Thanks for posting this thread, Silky....I've been following Brendan's story since it broke. What a great kid he sounds like and had such a bright future to look forward to. One quote from this Daily Mail article stood out to me.....says a lot about Brendan:

"'Brendan Tevlin was everything that was right in this world, and the monster that took his life is everything that’s wrong with it. RIP.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nning-scene-straight-A-student-shot-dead.html

 

[Indy Anna]

From T-rex's link;

Yesterday, lead detectives walked the sites where the Livingston man was last seen alive: a friend’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’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 ...

Other evidence of where the shooting occurred:

<snipped>

a Walker Road resident who lives about 50 yards from where authorities believe the shots were fired, said he heard gunshots around midnight and initially thought they were part of a passing thunderstorm.

"We think six (shots)," Larsen said. "We thought it was the transformer blowing."

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

Yesterday I was thinking BT had already made a left turn at the intersection and backtracked, but clearly he had not turned when he was shot. Residents on Walker heard the shots.

It's doubtful (but not impossible) that BT's vehicle was followed from the 7-11. That's quite a distance to be followed, and my understanding is he took his friends back to the Florence Place address (friend's house) before heading home.

ETA: The only reason I can think of for Brendan making a right turn at the intersection, instead of a left to head toward Livingston, is that it was easier to turn right and he may have turned on red, knowing that he needed to pull over and quickly -- not to mention, he needed to escape the thugs shooting at him ASAP, which would explain why he kept moving instead of staying put and calling 911 on his cell phone. It must have taken the last bit of strength remaining in him to make it to the apartment complex.

 

[otto]

Could he have witnessed a crime and was killed for it?

 

[Indy Anna]

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.

BBM
I've seen a lot of articles that say he was shot and killed at that intersection, too. But, according to this article, he was found in the driver's side of his car at the apartment complex:
http://wtvr.com/2014/06/26/university-of-richmond-student-brendan-tevlin-found-dead/

<snipped>

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.

BBM

Other articles have corrected the make and model of the vehicle to be a Jeep Liberty:

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

<snipped>

Yesterday, lead detectives walked the sites where the Livingston man was last seen alive: a friend’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’s Jeep Liberty, according to authorities.

BBM

If the killer hijacked the vehicle and drove to the apartment complex, why take the time to move the body back to the driver's seat?

The only thing that begins to make sense to me is that, on his way home, Brendan spotted someone who was running down the street, obviously in trouble. BT pulled over and let the person in on the passenger side; then another person began firing at the SUV, hitting Brendan. His wounds must have been such that he was killed instantly. His passenger, then, in a panic to escape his/her pursuer, climbed on top of BT and drove to the apartment complex, parking the car and running off. JMO

If the above scenario is correct, would that have made Brendan "targeted"? He would not have been the target, but perhaps targeted by association. True?

 

[colette]

I think he was shot at the intersection but was able to drive wounded. They may have followed him and shot him more near the apartment complex parking area.

 

[momthebomb]

Maybe he was shot at the intersection, blowing out the windows, and he took off. Thinking perhaps they caught up with him at the apartment complex and actually surrounded him and shot him right there. That would explain the driving to the complex, since we are al wondering how he drove wounded. maybe he wasn't wounded till the complex

 

[momthebomb]

I have done some digging and also spoke to someone who knows the family very well. This was a really, really good kid. Comes from a very loving family, oldest of 4. No hidden agendas here with this young man. He won the top honors award when graduating from Seton Hall Prep for having a 4.0 GPA all 4 years. Spent his summers in Lavallette with the rest of the extended family at the grandparents summer home. No way, IMO, was this a drug related crime. He had just texted his mom to say he was on his way home. Breaks my heart and I hope they find out who in God's name did this. Such a loss of a promising young life. I am def thinking carjacking, and maybe since it was not his car, he put up a bit of a fight. He took off, as I mentioned above, and they caught up with him at the apartment complex.

 

[T-Rex]

Something that slipped by me the first time I read this article: It mentions "witness accounts of the attack"!

("Based on the evidence and witness accounts of the attack, the 19-year-old college student&#8217;s killing appears to be an isolated incident, according to Anthony Ambrose, the chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor&#8217;s Office.")

I wonder if they're talking about the person who heard gunshots, or if there are witnesses who actually saw the attack.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2...es_to_livingston_college_students_murder.html

 

[momthebomb]

Something that slipped by me the first time I read this article: It mentions "witness accounts of the attack"!

("Based on the evidence and witness accounts of the attack, the 19-year-old college student’s killing appears to be an isolated incident, according to Anthony Ambrose, the chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.")

I wonder if they're talking about the person who heard gunshots, or if there are witnesses who actually saw the attack.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2...es_to_livingston_college_students_murder.html

Based on the TV interviews of neighbors, it seems as though they were not visual witnesses, but rather sound witnesses. They stated they heard gunshots that at first they thought were part of the thunderstorm. At least that is how I remember it to be.

 

[T-Rex]

I get you. I'm just wondering how hearing shots would tell them it's an isolated incident.

 

[Theforeigner]

I get you. I'm just wondering how hearing shots would tell them it's an isolated incident.

Maybe they heard the killer say Brendan Tevlin's name ?

I have been thinking; could the motive have been exstream jalousy over a girl?

 

[kathiev]

I think he was shot at the intersection but was able to drive wounded. They may have followed him and shot him more near the apartment complex parking area.

He would have had a difficult time. I am pretty sure you can't make a left into that complex which is what he would have had to do given the direction he was going. One would have to find a place to turn around. I think he was driven there by his assailant.

 

[Elainera]

He would have had a difficult time. I am pretty sure you can't make a left into that complex which is what he would have had to do given the direction he was going. One would have to find a place to turn around. I think he was driven there by his assailant.

Or by one of his friends?

Why would the assailant drive him there?

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Reward raised to $25,000 for information about murder of straight-A prep school graduate shot dead in his parents' Jeep

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-26...p-school-graduate-shot-dead-parents-Jeep.html

 

[MoeJoey]

He would have had a difficult time. I am pretty sure you can't make a left into that complex which is what he would have had to do given the direction he was going. One would have to find a place to turn around. I think he was driven there by his assailant.

Um, please, if this ever happens to you, the "rules of the road" no longer apply when someone is after you, especially shooting. You aim for the closest police or fire station. You can explain later, when you're still alive. An illegal turn can be just the thing. Brendan didn't have a chance to do that. I think he tried.

Most Sincerely, MoeJoey

 

[T-Rex]

Maybe Brendan knew someone in the complex. Otherwise, there's not much in that direction, but there is a McDonald's to the left.

Also, and I'm not sure if this is relevant, but he would have passed a parking lot to the Reservation, which is a wooded hiking area, just to the left, before he got to Northfield.

 

[ellabella]

Or by one of his friends?

Why would the assailant drive him there?

Honestly one of my first thoughts was that a friend was with him when he was shot and drove him there either to help with discovery or because of some other reason. I have no idea why this was my first thought.\

Also, while 7-11 seems an odd food choice, for gamers at midnight? not so much honestly.

 

[momthebomb]

Honestly one of my first thoughts was that a friend was with him when he was shot and drove him there either to help with discovery or because of some other reason. I have no idea why this was my first thought.\

Also, while 7-11 seems an odd food choice, for gamers at midnight? not so much honestly.

Not odd at all, my guys do Quick Chek...lol

 

[kathiev]

Or by one of his friends?

Why would the assailant drive him there?

To flee the crime scene in the fastest way possible. He created a second crime scene when he left the body in the car at the apartment complex. Unfortunately I think poor Brendan was already gone at the first crime scene.

I do not think Brendan's friends were with him. He was alone on his way home.

 

[Indy Anna]

To flee the crime scene in the fastest way possible. He created a second crime scene when he left the body in the car at the apartment complex. Unfortunately I think poor Brendan was already gone at the first crime scene.

I do not think Brendan's friends were with him. He was alone on his way home.

Can we be sure he was alone as he headed home? Might he have given one of his friends a ride? If that was the case, I doubt the friend was the shooter: both the driver and passenger side windows were shot out; suggesting a shooter inside the car would have turned away from his victim to fire more shots. So, why would a friend riding in the car, once he reached safety, not call 911? That would not make sense, IMO. I don't think a passenger would have survived the shooting considering the extent of damage to both windows.

I think think you're correct about Brendan already being deceased at the scene of the shooting. All of the articles state he was shot and killed at the intersection. One article (these are linked in my previous posts) states his body was found in the driver's seat in the parking lot of the apartment complex. This case is so baffling because the info sounds so contradictory. The only way it could make sense, IMO, is if someone got inside the car and sat on top of him (driver's side) after he was shot to death, and then drove down to the apartment complex where he/she escaped.

The only way I could see a passenger (friend) of Brendan inside the vehicle surviving gunfire is if he saw the threat in time and got onto the floorboard. Maybe the assailants thought they hit and killed the passenger and after they ran off the passenger climbed into the driver's seat and drove to safety. If that's what happened, LE probably know and are keeping the other victim under protection until the killers are captured. Why else would LE dismiss this as an isolated incident? Anyone who has committed a crime of violence, especially one this brutal, poses a continued threat. All MOO