TOMS RIVER — A Monmouth County man has been indicted on a murder charge in connection with the death of a Seaside Heights woman who was left critically injured at an Ocean County hospital in November, authorities said.
Emiliano Davila, 41, of Keansburg, was charged by an Ocean County grand jury with murder in the death of Mary O’Connor, 32, according to Bradley D. Billhimer.
Police were called Nov. 3, 2025, to Community Medical Center in Toms River after hospital staff reported a woman suffering severe head injuries. Investigators said O’Connor had been brought to the hospital by two men who left shortly after dropping her off.
Authorities said O’Connor was unresponsive and had suffered a brain bleed, along with visible injuries consistent with strangulation.
A joint investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and the Seaside Heights Police Department determined that Davila was one of the men who transported O’Connor to the hospital, officials said. Investigators later learned the two had been in a dating relationship and that O’Connor had been staying at a Seaside Heights motel, where Davila allegedly assaulted her the night before she was hospitalized.
Davila was arrested later on Nov. 3, 2025, by detectives with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force, with assistance from Brick Township police. He was initially charged with aggravated assault involving domestic violence and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has remained in custody.
O’Connor died two days later, on Nov. 5, 2025, as a result of her injuries. An autopsy conducted by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died from blunt force trauma to the head that caused a subdural hematoma. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, prompting prosecutors to upgrade the charge against Davila to murder.
Davila was formally served with the murder charge at the Ocean County Jail, authorities said. He remains detained pending trial.
Prosecutor Billhimer credited Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill for presenting the case to the grand jury and praised multiple law enforcement agencies for their roles in the investigation.
The charges are accusations, and Davila is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
