Girl, 14, charged in vicious group murders

A 14-year-old Camden girl was charged with murder today in the grisly slayings of a man and a woman found buried last month in the backyard of a South Camden rowhouse.

The girl was among a group of at least 10 people who beat and strangled Muriah Ashley Huff, 22, of Cinnaminson on Feb. 22, authorities said.

Members of the same group also killed Huff's boyfriend, Michael Hawkins, 23, of Mount Holly.

Hawkins was bound and beaten for hours - until most of the bones in his face were broken - and then shot and stabbed repeatedly, said Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

The couple were buried before dawn Feb. 23 in one grave, Laughlin said.

The girl, who was not identified because of her age, has been in custody since March 3 at the Camden County Youth Detention Center, Laughlin said.

Two other juveniles and an adult were also charged today in the slayings.

The juveniles, both 17-year-old males - one from Pennsauken, the other from Astoria, N.Y. - were each charged with two counts of murder and were being held at the county detention center, Laughlin said.

Lance Fulton, 19, of Camden, was charged with murder in connection with Hawkins death. Fulton was arrested Saturday by U.S. Marshals in North Carolina and is awaiting extradition to New Jersey, Laughlin said.

Another 19-year-old Camden man, Dennis Welch was charged with murder Friday. He was being held on $1 million bail in the Camden County Jail.

Investigators believe the group set upon Huff and Hawkins shortly after the couple arrived at a house on the 500 block of Berkley Street.

A witness said Welch and others assaulted and fatally shot Hawkins in the home, according to a statement of probable cause. He was stripped and then buried, Laughlin said.

Huff was in the home while Hawkins was being tortured, but it is unclear whether she knew what was happening to him, Laughlin said.

Police said a tip had led them to the remains about two days after they were buried. Camden detectives saw a snow-covered patch of ground at the house that had been recently dug up, the probable cause statement said.

Officials said members of the group tried to hide the killings by scrubbing the walls of the home with bleach and ripping up bloodstained carpets.

What objects, if any, were used in the beatings and murders was unclear.