Following a truly tragic death in Monmouth County, a Wall Township man has been arrested and charged with murder and other offenses in the death of his 6-week old baby girl, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

Austin Meli, 23, was charged with one count of first degree Murder, and one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

If convicted of Murder, Meli faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole and a maximum sentence of Life imprisonment without
parole.

Wall Police responded on March 9, 2019 to a residence in the township regarding an unresponsive six-week-old infant girl.

Their investigation determined that six-week-old (G.B.) was in the immediate care of her father, Austin Meli, at the time she was found to be unresponsive.

G.B. was later pronounced deceased at Ocean Medical Center in Brick.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, additional details surrounding G.B.’s death were provided to Detectives, resulting in the homicide charge being brought against Meli.

He is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold
Township.

If anyone has any information that can assist the investigative team, they are urged to call Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Shawn Murphy at 732-431-7160 extension 7032 or Wall Township Police Detective Chris Lisewski at 732-449-4800 extension 1140.

This case is assigned to Monmouth County Prosecutor Ellyn Rajfer.

Meli is represented by Jeffrey Coghlan, Esq., of Freehold.

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