John Tyrrell, top right, called 911 after finding a body at the Belleplain State Forest. State Police are hoping someone recognizes the woman's tattoos or items found with her remains.
A Cape May County hiker who discovered the body of a woman in a park last week is charged with obstruction in the case.
John Tyrrell, 46, called police Dec. 22, after he found the unidentified woman's remains in a refrigerator while hiking in Belleplain State Forest.
He waited for State Police to arrive and even sent a ping of his phone so they could locate him and the body, his attorney said Monday.
Tyrrell then went back to the Woodbine barracks with troopers to talk to them. But it was when they asked for his cell phone that things turned.
He refused to turn over the cell phone while investigators moved to get a search warrant.
Tyrrell was charged with fourth-degree obstruction and jailed. His phone was confiscated as part of the arrest.
What was not mentioned during the detention hearing was that Tyrrell called police the day after he first discovered the refrigerator.
Tyrrell told police that he first opened the refrigerator Dec. 21, and took possession of some things inside, according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
He then returned to the area the next day, when he said he saw what appeared to be a human body inside. It was not clear why he would not have seen the body the first time.
"Due to the fact that the cell phone of Tyrrell is believed to contain evidence associated with the crime, Tyrrell was brought to the New Jersey State Police Woodbine Station, where he was ordered to turn over his cell phone pending a search warrant," the affidavit states. "Tyrrell refused to turn his phone over at which point he was arrested for obstruction."
Police came to Tyrrell again in the jail on Thursday, with a search warrant for the code to his phone.
He instead asked to speak to his attorney, and then refused to give the code, according to the charges. He also refused to be fingerprinted for after being charged with a second, fourth-degree obstruction charge.
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Waldman found that there was no probable cause for the original obstruction charge, agreeing with defense attorney John Tumelty that Tyrrell had no obligation to turn over the phone when he had not been charged and there was no search warrant.
However, once the warrant was presented to the defendant at the jail, things changed, the judge found.
“I don’t think the defendant has any right to talk to a lawyer once he’s been served with a search warrant," Waldman said. “He now has a warrant, now has an order, (and) now has an obligation to turn it over.”
Tumelty said his client was “maybe a little angry that he was arrested and didn’t want to give up any vestige of his rights by turning a phone over and submitting to fingerprinting when he believed he never should have been in this position to begin with.”
The code was turned over the next day, Tumelty argued.
He noted that the state has now had 72 hours to extract any evidence, but has not indicated any was found.
“We’re still trying to actively identify this woman,” Assistant Prosecutor Ed Shim responded. “For Mr. Tumelty to allege the state has not been working on this extraction is not the case. We’re not in a position to make any public statements.”
A forensic image shows where the tattoos were on the deceased woman.State Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the woman.
She is believed to be a Caucasian or Hispanic female approximately 5-foot-1.
Photos have been release of two distinctive tattoos, along with photos of a yoga mat and necklace recovered at the scene.
Drawings of tattoos found on the woman.Shim argued for Tyrrell to be held in jail during a detention hearing Monday, noting he is a registered Megan’s Law offender.
That charge is 22 years old, with no violations since, Tumelty argued. He also noted that his client is properly registered.
The judge ordered Tyrrell released with conditions, including weekly check-ins with the court. He also is barred from Belleplain State Forest, which Shim argued is still a crime scene.
Anyone with information about the woman’s identity is asked to contact the State Police Troop ‘A’ Woodbine Station at 609-861-5698 or the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office at 609-465-1135, ext. 3480.
A necklace was found with the remains.
A yoga mat also was recovered.(NOTE: This story has been updated to include details from the affidavit of probable cause.)
