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Jury asks to rehear testimony of 2 witnesses in Lodzinski murder trial

Jurors will resume their deliberation tomorrow in the trial of Michelle Lodzinski for the murder of her 5-year-old son in 1991.

 

NEW BRUNSWICK -- The jury deliberating the fate of Michelle Lodzinski, charged with the 1991 murder of her 5-year-old son, asked Thursday afternoon to rehear the testimony of the medical examiner and the nurse at the school the boy attended.

Jurors will hear the testimony Friday morning of Geetha Natarajan, retired Middlesex County Medical Examiner, who testified after reviewing the original autopsy report by the late Marvin Shuster, the medical examiner at the time, and other reports, she could not determine a cause of death for Timothy Wiltsey.

Wiltsey's skeletal remains were found in a swampy area of Raritan Center in Edison 11 months after his mother reported him missing from a carnival in sayreville the evening of May 25, 1991.

Natarajan testified that the boy's death was a homicide because he was placed in the area where he was found, some 11 miles from where he was reported missing and from all reports was healthy.

The jury also asked to hear from Mary Ellen Quirk, the school nurse at St. Mary's Elementary School where Timmy attended kindergarten. Quirk testified that Timmy was late 63 times to school and absent more than 20 times.

The jury began its deliberations Thursday afternoon. They must decide between murder, aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter. Here's the difference:

-- Murder is punishable by up to life in prison, and the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lodzinski purposely and or knowingly caused the death or serious bodily injury resulting in the death of her son.

-- Aggravated manslaughter is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and the state must prove that Lodzinski recklessly caused Timothy's death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.

-- Manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and the state must prove that Lodzinski recklessly, or in the heat of passion, caused Timothy's death as a result of reasonable provocation. 

Lodzinski was charged with her son's murder in August 2014 after the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office reopened the case in 2011.

But, according to testimony, she was a prime suspect in her son's disappearance early in the investigation after giving police several difference versions of how he went missing.

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.


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