Tyron Lindsay, 38, was charged with killing the woman, who was a former classmate of his. More details were released Thursday.
TRENTON - The Hamilton man charged with strangling Jessica Prusik last month and leaving her body in a park had known his alleged victim since high school and the two remained acquaintances, attorneys said during a bail hearing Thursday.
Tyron Lindsay, 38, faces a murder charge in the October killing of Prusik, who was a married mother and stepmother.
Tyron Lindsay "He was definitely the last known person with her," Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds said at the hearing.
The prosecutor said Lindsay and Prusik spent the day together on Oct. 5. Prusik was found dead the morning of Oct. 6 in John A. Roebling Memorial Park.
Lindsay was taken into custody the next day on unrelated warrants. He was charged in late October with killing Prusik and was being held on a $1 million bail until the hearing Thursday when a judge lowered his bail to $750,000.
In interviews with investigators, Lindsay admitted that he was with Prusik on Oct. 5, but insisted that she dropped him off at home that day and drove away in a pickup truck, Geurds said.
The 1992 pickup truck that Prusik used, but didn't own, was found in mid-October in Bucks County, Pa.
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Guerds said Lindsay rented a motel room Oct. 5 in Pennsylvania.
Security cameras showed Lindsay leaving the motel in the pickup just before 7 a.m. on Oct. 6 and other security cameras showed him driving back into New Jersey, according to Geurds.
A witness saw Lindsay driving the pickup truck into the park where Prusik's body was later found, Geurds said.
Around 10 a.m. on Oct. 6 - just an hour after police discovered the body- Lindsay picked up a person in a truck, Geurds said. He had scratches on his hand and Prusik's purse in the car, the person later told investigators, Geurds said.
While police were still investigating the homicide, Lindsay was using bank cards from Prusik's purse in attempts to get money from her account, Geurds said. He called customer service for one card, gave Prusik's name and claimed to be her boyfriend, according to prosecutors.
The prosecutor's office cited Lindsay's prior robbery conviction when asking for a higher bail.
Lindsay's attorney Jack Furlong argued his client was not a flight risk. He acknowledged Thursday that Lindsay and Prusik had known each other for years and got high together.
Prusik's obituary and the Times of Trenton archives show that they attended Nottingham High School in Hamilton together in the 1990s.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.