Vineland man charged in father's stabbing death, body found in Bridgeton

Bridgeton police found Anthony Williams dead inside a Bridgeton home after officers were called to a foul odor at about 12:15 p.m. on July 19, and prosecutors say his son has now been charged in the killing.

Antoine Williams, 28, of Vineland, was charged Tuesday, July 21, with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said. Investigators allege he stabbed his father on or around July 15 and later tried to conceal the crime. Authorities said the body was in an advanced state of decomposition when it was discovered.

The discovery has raised immediate questions about how long Anthony Williams had been dead before anyone found him and what happened inside the home in the days between the alleged stabbing and the odor complaint. Police have said the body was found in a Bridgeton residence, not a Vineland residence, after Bridgeton officers responded to the report of a bad smell.

The case also puts a new spotlight on violent crime in Cumberland County, where local reporting last year said the county had more than 40 unresolved homicide cold cases. That backlog has long left families waiting for answers in deaths that have gone unsolved for years, from infant victims to elderly residents.

For Vineland and Bridgeton families, the Williams case now centers on two basic questions: when Anthony Williams was last seen alive and whether anything at the Fayette Street home should have raised alarm sooner. Police have already tied the alleged killing to a specific window around July 15, and the tampering-with-evidence charge suggests investigators believe steps were taken after the stabbing to hide what happened before the odor complaint brought police to the door.