A 33-year-old Red Bank Middle School social studies teacher was found dead in her Neptune City apartment this morning, and investigators are treating the matter as suspicious, the Asbury Park Press reports.
The newspaper says little information about the death of Jonelle E. Melton has been released by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office, pending the completion of an autopsy.
From the Press:
Melton worked for eight years at the middle school, most recently as a fifth-grade social studies teacher, said Red Bank Schools Superintendent Laura Morana. Counseling services will be made available to students and staff tomorrow, she said.
“We’re all very saddened by this tragic news,” Morana said.
Also:
At the scene, authorities cordoned off several areas throughout the complex, including multiple garbage bins where plastic suit-clad investigators picked through refuse throughout the morning.
Sources familiar with the investigation said Melton lived alone at the apartment.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Daniel Baldwin of the Prosecutor’s Office at 800-533-7443 or Neptune City police at 732-775-1615.
