Man Sentenced in Missing Person Case After 106 Bones Found Across Properties

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to prison in connection with the death of a missing person after 106 bones were discovered across multiple properties in 2020.

Michael A. Zappley, of Westville, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday, September 18, over the killing of Miguel Martinez III, according to a Monday, September 21, news release from the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.

Zappley’s sentence comes after he pleaded guilty last month to aggravated manslaughter in connection with Martinez’s 2016 death.

Martinez was reported missing by his family members on June 15, 2016, according to prosecutors.

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“For several months detectives investigated, continually checking hospitals, phone records, social media records, and interviewing individuals, but were unable to locate Martinez,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Eventually, investigators received a major lead from a witness who shared details in 2020 about Martinez’s death and the disposal of his body.

The tip led investigators to execute several search warrants at properties along Fox Run Road in Deptford, where dozens of human bones were found, according to prosecutors.

There were 106 bones recovered, prosecutors said. DNA testing revealed they all belonged to Martinez.

After Zappley was linked to Martinez’s death, he admitted to investigators that he got into a fight with Martinez at an auto body shop, A&J Auto Body, in Deptford, according to Patch.com. Zappley had been working at the business as a manager.

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“In a taped statement, Zappley admitted to an altercation with Martinez in which he grabbed the victim from behind, restricted Martinez’s airway until he could not breathe, and struck him on the head with a steel door,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Afterward, Zappley said he left Martinez’s body outside overnight before taking his remains to a wooded area near Fox Run Road, according to prosecutors. There, Zappley allegedly tried to burn Martinez’s body.

Following the discovery of Martinez’s bones, Zappley was indicted in 2020 on charges including murder, disturbing or desecrating human remains and tampering with physical evidence, according to Patch.com.

As part of his sentence, he is required to serve 85% of the 12 years before he is eligible for parole, the prosecutor’s office said.

Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew B. Johns thanked his office’s Major Crimes and Crime Scene Investigation Unit, New Jersey State Police and the Deptford Police Department for investigating Martinez’s death.

Deptford is located about a 10-mile drive southeast from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.