Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

A 2016 missing person case ends with remains found and a prison sentence

nbcphiladelphia.com · 8h · first reportShare

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to prison for the 2016 death of Miguel Martinez III, whose remains were found years after he was reported missing. Martinez’s family reported him missing on June 15, 2016, according to documents filed in the case. For several months, detectives investigated his disappearance by checking hospitals, phone records and social media records and interviewing people, but they were unable to locate Martinez. A witness came forward in January 2020 with details about how Martinez had been killed and how his body was disposed of, according to the court information. Documents said that investigators then obtained and executed search warrants for multiple properties on Fox Run Road in Deptford, where they recovered 106 bones that were later determined to be human remains. DNA and genetics testing determined that the remains belonged to Martinez. In a taped statement, Michael Zappley, 69, of Westville, admitted to an altercation with Martinez in which he grabbed M