SEASIDE HEIGHTS – After police received a tip about a homicide at a Jersey Shore motel, a Seaside Heights man has been charged for the murder.
On May 1, Seaside Heights Police received a call in the early hours of a possible murder at the Offshore Motel in Seaside Heights. The caller claimed that the suspect, Gerardo Ruiz, 50, of Seaside Heights, had killed a woman at Offshore, and was staying at the Surfside Motel.
When police arrived at the Offshore Motel, they found a woman with apparent wounds to her neck. She was identified as Alecia Perreault, 29, of Seaside Heights. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly after, police arrived at Ruiz’s room at the Surfside Motel for questioning but found he had experienced an apparent drug overdose.
At this time, Ruiz is in protective custody of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office at a medical facility and is currently listed in serious but stable condition.
After performing an investigation, officials determined Ruiz was responsible for Perreault’s death. “The Ocean County Medical Examiner has preliminarily determined this to be a homicide but the cause and manner are currently pending further testing,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledged the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Seaside Heights Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their cooperative assistance in connection with this investigation.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
