OCEAN COUNTY – A Pemberton man has pled guilty to the murder of Cody MacPherson, sentenced to 30 years in state prison, announced Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Alan McGinnis, 27, pled guilty before Honorable Guy P. Ryan, J.S.C on Dec. 10 to one count of First Degree Murder. He will be required to serve all 30 years of his sentence, per the plea agreement.
According to the prosecutor, McGinnis admitted to stabbing MacPherson in the neck and chest at a residence in Pemberton Township on September 24, 2017, transporting MacPherson’s body in the trunk of a vehicle, and dumping his body in a wooded area in Jackson.
On March 19, Jackson Police responded to Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area after a call from a District Warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, Richard Byrne. Byrne stumbled across MacPherson’s remains and a human skull while conducting a controlled burn.
A post-mortem exam showed the cause of death to be a stab wound to the left abdomen, ruling his death a homicide. Dental x-rays helped officials to confirm the remains were, in fact, MacPherson. This was confirmed by DNA analysis and reported to NJ State Police in April 2018.
An ensuing investigation found that during the early hours of September 24, 2017, McGinnis allegedly stabbed MacPherson multiple times at 234 Pardee Blvd in Pemberton. The prosecutor’s office stated that McGinnis used a vehicle from that resident to transport MacPherson’s body to Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area on South Stump Tavern Road.
McGinnis allegedly returned to the Pemberton residence to clean all evidence of the murder and later returned to Colliers Mills to destroy any remaining evidence.
On August 2, McGinnis was indicted on six counts for MacPherson’s murder.
