A New Jersey lawyer who murdered his girlfriend died last Sunday. He was found unconscious in his cell.
James Ray III (Photo: Yahoo Autos)
Death Of New Jersey Lawyer In His Cell
60-year-old James Ray III, a lawyer from New Jersey who is facing a long sentence for murdering his years-long girlfriend, died last Sunday. According to authorities, he was found unconscious in his prison cell. Ray was taken to the University Hospital in Newark before being pronounced dead. Phil Alagia, the chief of staff of Essex County, stated that Ray was taken to the hospital after an emergency call from his correctional facility. Ray’s cause of death is to be determined yet by the medical examiner’s office. Before Ray was taken to the hospital, he was found by one of the sergeants taking Narcan, a drug for overdoses.
Last October 2018, 44-year-old Angela Bledsoe was shot by Ray in their home in Montclair after taking their daughter to school. According to prosecutors, Bledsoe was to meet a realtor the day she was shot since she was planning to move out. Self-defense was Ray’s reason for his crime. After the shooting, Ray grabbed essential documents and money before picking up their daughter from school and took her to his brother’s at a restaurant in the city. Ray then fled to Cuba but eventually returned to the U.S. and has been apprehended ever since.
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More on James Ray III
Jurors deliberated Ray’s charges for just three hours last month before sentencing him to 30 years in prison. Thomas Ashley, one of the defense lawyers of the trial, labeled Ray as “stoic” since he seemed to show no emotion regarding his sentence.
Ray was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was a former Marine and New York police officer before going to law school. NJ.com was informed by Ashley that he was not able to meet with Ray ever since his sentencing but he noticed that Ray seemed to have accepted his fate as the verdict was announced.
