Inset: Justin Wilhelm (Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office). Background: Residence in New Milford, New Jersey, where Wilhelm allegedly committed the stabbing (Google Maps).
A 25-year-old New Jersey man is incarcerated after allegedly stabbing a man to death and subsequently contacting the police, who found him bloodied on the front steps upon arrival.
Justin J. Wilhelm is charged with homicide and weapons offenses in the death of 24-year-old Mateo Ocho-Gonzalez from New Milford, as reported by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in a press release. The New Milford Police Department responded shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday to a residence on the 600 block of River Road following a 911 call from Wilhelm.
Arriving officers found Wilhelm, who resides in Landing, on the front steps with noticeable blood on his hands. Inside, they discovered Ocho-Gonzalez with multiple stab wounds to his chest and neck, and he was declared deceased at the scene.
A joint investigation was conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and New Milford Police Department. Detectives found that Wilhelm had drugs and repeatedly stabbed the victim inside the residence.
Wilhelm is facing charges of first-degree murder along with weapon and drug possession charges, according to prosecutors.
Local ABC affiliate WABC spoke with neighbors who noted increased activity at the house in the days leading to the incident. On Sept. 21, neighbors reported hearing a woman scream for help, prompting several police visits to the home. The occupants also discarded several couches onto the street.
“It’s been so much [happening] this week and we don’t know what’s going on,” neighbor Edgar Peneda told the TV station.
Cops took Wilhelm to the hospital for treatment before transferring him to the Bergen County Jail where he remains. His next court date is scheduled for Wednesday.
