A 63-year-old borough man has been accused of shooting and killing a 41-year-old victim after a heated argument.
Carmine Neri, of Wildwood Crest, was charged with the first-degree murder of Joseph Falciani.
Neri was also charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
The victim was allegedly shot in front of his own 10-year-old son, Daily Voice reported, citing the criminal complaint in the case.
The boy was living at the home and Neri was a relative of Falciani, the same report said, without further details.
Wildwood Crest Police responded to a residence on East Cresse Avenue on Wednesday around 3:46 p.m, for the report of a gunshot victim, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said.
Officers found Neri standing in the front living room. They took from him a handgun that was tucked into his back jeans pocket.
Falciani was found, shot in the chest and lying on his back at the top of a staircase.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and Wildwood Crest Police interviewed two witnesses who said an argument between Neri and Falciani had escalated to the second story of the residence
They said they heard a single gunshot and found Falciani lying atop the stairs, while Neri held a gun.
Additional witness testimony and evidence supported those statements, Sutherland said.
Investigators also saw a locked home office door appeared to have been forcibly kicked in.
Neri was taken to Cape May County Jail, pending further court proceedings.
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