Cleary’s Notebook News (April 3, 2026)-Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Ocean Township Police Chief Michal Rogalski announced that on April 2, 2026, at approximately 3:00 p.m., the Ocean Township (Waretown) Police Department and Waretown Fire Departments were dispatched to a structure fire on Route 9 in Waretown. During a primary search of the structure, emergency personnel discovered a deceased 71-year-old female in a first-floor bedroom in the northwest corner of the structure.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, revealed that the fire originated on the floor of the first floor bedroom of the residence, and that cause of the fire was accidental due to smoking.
Prosecutor Billhimer and Chief Rogalski acknowledge the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, and New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, for their combined and cooperative efforts in connection with this investigation.