Brian Mertz Found Guilty of Murdering Jennifer Whipkey in West Deptford
The decade-old West Deptford slaying had remained unsolved for several years.
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SOUTH JERSEY -- Jennifer Whipkey's family waited more than a decade for justice.
It finally arrived Thursday afternoon, when a jury found Whipkey's killer guilty.
A state Superior Court jury in Woodbury convicted Brian Mertz, 34, of first-degree murder in Whipkey's death.
Whipkey’s body, stabbed and slashed more than 60 times, was found in a wooded area off Woodbury Terrace in West Deptford on May 26, 2002. A newspaper delivery employee stumbled upon the body. The victim, the mother of a 4-year-old daughter, was last seen alive at Adelphia nightclub in Deptford in the early hours of May 25. The body’s location was 160 feet from the door of Westwood Motor Lodge, where Mertz had been staying at the time.
Whipkey, 22, was from the Clarksboro section of East Greenwich, Gloucester County.
Mertz became a prime suspect in Whipkey's slaying after DNA from semen in her body matched a DNA sample Mertz had given after a cocaine possession conviction in 2005, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. But, the case remained unsolved.
Finally, after an exhaustive investigation that looked at more than 80 potential suspects, Mertz was arrested on murder and sexual assault charges on Dec. 21, 2008.
Following his conviction, Mertz, a Woodbury resident, faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in state prison. Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. on Thursday revoked Mertz's bail. Mertz's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2013.
On a defense motion, Marshall dismissed the sexual assault counts against Mertz during the trial, over the prosecution's objection.
The jury deliberated for 17 hours over five days after a nine-day trial that played out over a month. The trial was only heard two days per week due to court scheduling.
After the verdict, prosecutors said they were relieved.
"After 10 long, arduous years of work on this case, Jennifer Whipkey and her family, including her mother, Liz McCool, finally saw justice served today in this terrible, terrible crime," Gloucester County Prosecutor Prosecutor Sean Dalton said. (For more, see Prosecutors React to Verdict in Trial of Jennifer Whipkey's Killer.)
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Liz Agenjo
8:35 pm on Thursday, October 25, 2012
Thank God Justice was served our family lost a Beautiful loving woman over 10 years ago and we finally have seen justice served. Jenn will always be in our hearts but knowing that this person is finally being punished for his actions we can remember her beautiful smile and the loving, caring, giving person she was she gave her mom the strength to get through this trial and gave her the faith that justice would be served. We Thank God for the people who were able to get the evidence they needed to convict him, Thank God for the jurors who found him guilty and helped to get him off the street because anyone who would do what he did in the horrible way he took her life, from her family deserves to be punished. Jenn you can rest in peace now. You will always be in our hearts.. Love you Jenn Miss you.
Lisa
3:59 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
What a lovely tribute, Liz. I am so very sorry for your loss, and I am relieved that there will finally be justice for Jennifer. RIP Jennifer.
WDNeedsHelp
1:44 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
And again, an outright killer of an innocent girl is allowed to live. Please reinstate the death penalty for this type of crime. Just got done reading another story where a parolled murder in NY was released and went right out killed a cop and an innocent motorist for his car. Enough is enough, no more sympathy for these killers, the electric chair or the firing squad.
Richard Ward
4:32 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
I am glad the killer was convicted. Too bad its not Texas where they actually use the dealth penalty. I think NJ has the death penalty but hasnt used it since before 1970.
Lauren Burgoon
4:36 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
NJ actually no longer uses the death penalty. The Legislature repealed it in 2007 and then-Gov. Corzine signed that bill into law.
Cherie
5:46 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
To murder a person as justice for muder is putting the state at the same level as the criminal. No one has the right to take the life of another person except in self defence. I don't care what the old Testament says, Jesus came and changed things, and he would not condone this.
Agdoc
7:23 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
Gee, must be nice to speak for Jesus. That aside, if your contention is that self-defense is reason for taking a life, then a society has the right to "defend" itself from anyone who has demonstrated disregard for the life/lives of it's members. He took a young woman's life in a vicious manner, leaving her 4 year old daughter without a mother. Requiring him to forfeit his own life in return is justice, not murder.
Teresa K.
12:12 pm on Saturday, October 27, 2012
@cherie: Jesus was murdered too. The rapist/ murderer here did it for no other reason but his own satisfaction and selfishness.
To eliminate him from society is doing all mankind a favor. Do you personally know if he has commited this same crime again? Would you saying the same thing if it was YOUR beloved sister, mother, best friend? I doubt it. Rapists usually dont stop until theyre made to stop. They like it too much.