Husband charged with killing wife at S. Jersey home

A man has been charged with fatally bludgeoning his 47-year-old wife and dumping her body in the pool of their upscale home on a Woolwich Township cul-de-sac two months ago in an attempt to make it look like a drowning, Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said Wednesday.

After killing Michelle Long on June 17, Norman Long, 51, went out to a restaurant and then returned home to call 911 to report his wife had drowned, Dalton said. A pet dog also was found dead in the pool.

Michelle Long's death, however, was ruled a homicide within days, after an autopsy found that she had died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

Norman Long, a self-employed construction contractor who was married to the victim for more than 15 years, was arrested Tuesday and sent to the Ann Klein Forensic Center, a state psychiatric hospital in Trenton, after threatening suicide, Dalton said.

Norman Long was charged with murder, fourth-degree concealing evidence "by disposing paper towels containing the blood of Michelle Long in the kitchen trash can," and fourth-degree obstruction of the administration of law by disposing the blood-stained paper towels and by placing his wife in the swimming pool, Dalton said.

Norman Long and neighbors were poolside performing CPR on the victim when first responders arrived about 8:35 p.m. June 17, Dalton said.

Neighbors said Norman Long "became combative" while CPR was being performed, and had to be restrained, according to Dalton. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Our investigation determined that Mr. Long killed his wife inside their home and placed her fully clothed body in the backyard swimming pool," Dalton said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

"He subsequently drove to a local restaurant, and upon his return pretended to discover her body in the pool," Dalton said.

Brittany Maguire, Michelle Long's daughter, spoke at the news conference and thanked investigators in the case.

"We are broken without her," she said about her mother.

"She became a grandmother a year ago," she said. "My nephew's first birthday was July 1, and we celebrated without her."

"We're just glad that the person who did this is now caught," she said.

Dalton declined to speculate on a motive for the slaying.

Court records show that Norman Long had filed for bankruptcy in April, listing liabilities of $511,135.13.