Police in Washington Township are investigating a homicide that took place in the township last Saturday night.
According to police, on Saturday, August 6, at approximately 9:57 p.m., officers from the Washington Township Police Department (WTPD) were dispatched to an apartment on Woodmont Circle, Sewell, for a dispute.
As a result of the initial investigation, officers charged 65-year-old Loretta Barr with assault.
Police said that the victim, identified as 80-year-old Florence Dicriscio (Barr’s mother), was initially transported to Jefferson Hospital in Washington Township for her injuries.
On August 9, the victim was pronounced deceased in Philadelphia, where she had been transferred for advanced care due to her injuries.
Upon Dicriscio’s death, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office partnered with the Washington Township Police Department to continue the investigation.
According to police officials, an autopsy conducted on August 10 by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the body/head and the manner of death as homicide.
As the result of a collaborative investigation by the GCPO and WTPD, Loretta Barr was subsequently charged with Manslaughter and Possession of a Weapon, and arrested in West Deptford Township on August 10.
Police officials said that Barr was processed and then incarcerated at the Salem County Correctional Facility, pending further proceedings.
Anyone with additional information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Christopher Popper of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, at 856-384-5593, or Detective Jason Sims of the Washington Township Police Department, at 609-820-2829.
Information can also be e-mailed to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at tips@co.gloucester.nj.us.