Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Chief Lisa Parker of the Manchester Police Department announced that on October 21, 2019, John T. Mullen Jr., age 50, of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with First Degree Murder in the death of Thomas J. Applegate, age 33, of Manchester Township. Mullen was also charged with First Degree Robbery, as well as Third Degree Possession of Heroin and Fourth Degree Tampering with Physical Evidence.
On October 20, 2019, Manchester Police responded to the Surf and Stream Campground after receiving multiple 911 calls about a body lying in the entrance driveway to the campground. Upon arrival, Manchester patrol units found the body of Thomas J. Applegate lying in the driveway of the Surf and Stream Campground with a wound in his chest. The victim was pronounced at the scene by Dr. Gildan of Newark Beth Israel Hospital at approximately 6:00 p.m. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Manchester Police Department and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office began a joint investigation. Based on this investigation, John T. Mullen, Jr., was charged with the murder and robbery of Thomas Applegate.
“Through our investigation, we have determined that this started out as a drug deal. Mullen planned on stealing Xanax from the victim. This robbery, however, turned into a murder,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated. “All of the involved agencies — OCPO’s Major Crime Unit and High TechCrime Unit, Manchester Police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office — did a great job resolving this investigation expeditiously,” Prosecutor Billhimer added.
The investigation is being led by Detective Brant Uricks of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Detective Danny Barker of the Manchester Township Police Department, and Detective John Strodel of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
Madeline Morningstar
Nikki Michelle wtf
Madeline Morningstar all for drugs. Smh
Nikki Michelle shits gotta stop ?
Maddie Yockachonis
Great job all involved
Lacey Marie Bottorff Shealyn Gilby
Monica Natal – I don’t have to run into my house now
Suzan Soydan Feldman
Chalon Gio Smiitt I cant read the whole article. Did he know person?
Suzan Soydan Feldman basically said drug deal robbery then murder.
Shanan Fisher Gilby
Shira Rose Newman-Swensen
Donna Costa omg!!!!!!!!!!! John!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wtf?????????!!!!!!!!!!
Donna Costa he’s going to Trenton State penitentiary!! New Jersey state penitentiary!!! Even that too good for him!!!! 
Amanda Lapushinsky
Greg Megill wow ?
He better get the death penalty. He doesn’t deserve to live out his days in prison. ?
We don’t have that here unfortunately
Lynette Marie yea I know…too bad.
He’ll get rehab, a college degree, new teeth and a 100k a year job after doing 2 years of a 5 year sentence.
Mark Barletta
Scum bag
So he took a life in attempt to steal Xanax? Horrible
Rob Mongon
Donna Porcoro Citron
over Xanax!
Taylor Mize
Lauren Tommas Kaczynski so crazy
Jason Carl Earley
All for xanex??♂️??♂️??♂️???
Rhonda Roth Amy Reilly. Tom Remondelli
Maureen Grover Buehl Ungar
Diana Wiese
TJ Buehl omg I just called you! I just found out ?
Katrina Ungar
Really? For Xanax? Not getting any of that where you’re going!
Dottie Ellen Cardwell-Huthmacher you would be surprised at how accessible drugs are in some jails.
It’s really sad what’s happened to Ocean County it’s so so sad Prayers to all the victims that had died and been murdered in the past month
I blame the pharmaceutical industry for everything.
Selling and or doing drugs gets you no where in life I know first hand. Rest easy
Michelle Caceres
Can his eyes get closer together?
I have a bench vise, we could give it a try 🙂
Kristen Martin
Ali its sad the way the hole world is today
Whole new meaning to trailer trash
Sean Riley so glad we fukin moved out of this shit hole!!!
Lacey you sound like Demitri. Lol
SCUM
drugs or anything else Is an excuse He’s just a lowlife piece of krapp where hes going they gonna have a lot of fun with Him was that movie deliverance looky here George he got some Miley pretty lips will make him squeeze like a pig And a squealing he’ll Be doing
Evelyn Gross Bisignano
Dylan O’Connor