⚖️ WESTVILLE MAN SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS FOR 2016 KILLING 🚔

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, NJ — Nearly a decade after Miguel Martinez III was reported missing, the man responsible for his death has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.

Michael A. Zappley, 69, of Westville, was sentenced after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in connection with Martinez's 2016 death.

Martinez was reported missing by his family on June 15, 2016. Investigators spent years searching for answers, reviewing hospital records, phone information and social media while conducting interviews, but initially could not determine what happened to him.

🔎 In January 2020, a witness provided investigators with information about Martinez's death and the disposal of his remains.

Authorities subsequently obtained search warrants for multiple properties along Fox Run Road, where investigators recovered 106 human bones that were later linked to Martinez.

According to prosecutors, Zappley admitted that he became involved in a physical confrontation with Martinez at A&J Auto Body in Deptford, where Zappley was working as a manager at the time.

Zappley told authorities that he grabbed Martinez from behind, preventing him from breathing, and then struck him in the head with a steel door.

Prosecutors said Zappley subsequently left Martinez's body outside overnight before transporting it to a wooded area near Fox Run Road, where he attempted to burn the remains.

🚔 Zappley was arrested in 2020 after being indicted on charges including murder, disturbing or desecrating human remains and tampering with physical evidence.

As part of a plea agreement reached in August, Zappley pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter. Under the sentence, he must serve 85% of the 12-year term before becoming eligible for parole.

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