Atlantic City Resort Hotel Guests Charged with Killing Man in January
A duo who stayed at Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City during January is being charged with the murder of a local guy.
A New Jersey grand jury in Atlantic County lately brought allegations against Howard Griswold, 24, and Melissa Tikaram, 28, for the January 20 murder of 32-year-old Christian Hunter.
As per prosecutors, police officers from Atlantic City found Hunter lying unconscious on a sidewalk on N. Virginia Avenue's 100 block. He was sent to AtlantiCare Medical Center where he died from the bullet wounds he'd suffered.
“A further examination carried out by the New Jersey South Regional Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that the cause of death was due to a gunshot injury. The manner of death was reported as a homicide,” the statement from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office declared.
Footage from surveillance cameras showed Hunter as he left his house. Shortly after that, a compact SUV pulled up beside him.
"Take this crap," a male voice yelled from the car identified as a Nissan Rogue. A man stepped out of the vehicle, immediately followed by the sound of two gunshots being discharged. The killer got back in the vehicle before speeding off, leaving Hunter on the ground.
Hunter's pockets had been turned inside out, and his wallet and cell phone were taken.
Couple Gets Charged
Later that night, Hunter's friends called his phone, and authorities allege Griswold responded. Boarding a hotel room in the casino, the cops believed they had tracked the phone.
Hotel records show that the room was booked under Tikaram's name. Suddenly, the detectives realized that Tikaram owned a Nissan Rogue from New York.
The police discovered phone records proving that the attack wasn't a random act, as Hunter had been in touch with Tikaram prior to the incident. Tikaram was also in a relationship with Griswold.
In February, Griswold and Tikaram were taken into custody in upstate New York and then sent back to New Jersey to answer the charges. The prossecutor's office confirmed that the two have been accused of murder and other related crimes.
The investigation was taken over by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit and the Atlantic City Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit.
“The charges only signify an accusation and not a legitimate verdict until the trial,” the prosecutor’s office said. “In all criminal cases, the accused should not be thought to be guilty if they’re not publicly proven guilty.”
AC Crime
The January 20th killing of Hunter was one of five murders in the city during the same month, surpassing the 7 murders that occurred through the entire 2023.
At that time, Mayor Marty Small Sr. deemed the murders “unacceptable” and vowed to do something to prevent it from happening again. Atlantic City now has plans to install over 200 surveillance cameras through a $5 million security program.
However, Small has since run into some legal trouble of his own. The mayor is now facing child endangerment charges along with other allegations from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. According to the reports, Small and his wife Dr. La’Quetta Small, who serves as the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, were found to have mistreated their teenager daughter.
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Source: www.casino.org
