Alleged Murder Accomplice Pleads Not Guilty in Beating Death

The Fairview man accused of assisting after a killing in which a man was beaten to death with a hammer, his body left in a car trunk in Lincoln Park last year, has pleaded not guilty.

According to the Daily Record, Oscar Benedicto-Aleman appeared in court Monday on charges relating to the August 2011 death of 27-year-old Esteban Hernandez-Vazquez, of North Bergen. Morris County prosecutors believe Benedicto-Aleman helped Carlos Rojas, also of North Bergen, bring the body to Lincoln Park after Rojas allegedly murdered him. Rojas is scheduled for arraignment on murder charges in December.

Authorities from the Morris County Prosecutor's Office sought the public's help in identifying the body of Hernandez-Vazquez, which was found off of Ryerson Road. A pedestrian initially alerted law enforcement officials to the car, a white Toyota Camry.

Read the full story from the Daily Record here.