Willingboro, NJ, Man Convicted For Killing a Woman Who Was Selling a Phone

A Willingboro Township man has been convicted of murder for fatally shooting a 21-year-old woman from Lindenwold in the head while she was sitting in her car.

Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw's office says a jury deliberated all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning before returning guilty verdicts against 24-year-old Marvin A. Coleman, Jr. on charges of,

• First-degree felony murder
• First-degree murder
• First-degree robbery
• Second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
• Second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon

An investigation began after police were called to the first block of Medley Lane in Willingboro just before 8:30 on the morning of March 7th, 2019, for a report of a woman in a parked car with an apparent gunshot wound.

Arriving officers found Maribely Lopez in the driver's seat with the engine still running. They determined the shooting happened around 11:00 the night before.

The investigation further revealed that Coleman had made arrangements on March 6 through the marketplace app OfferUp to purchase a used cell phone from Lopez. They agreed that Lopez would meet Coleman in front of a house on Medley Lane, which is a short walk through a field from the defendant’s residence on Marlboro Lane.

But instead of buying the phone, authorities say Coleman executed Lopez by firing a shot through the partially opened driver's side window.

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The phone that she was selling was found by investigators inside the car.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood revealed that Lopez died from a single gunshot to the head.

Coleman is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9th.