TOMS RIVER – An Ocean County Grand Jury has indicted a 52-year-old Colts Neck man for the “savage and brutal” killing of a retired New York firefighter on Long Beach Island in 2015.
The body of Richard Doody Jr., a 60-year-old retired FDNY firefighter, was found inside of his Barnegat Light home by Long Beach Township police officers on Nov. 23, 2015 after a concerned family member was unable to make contact with him.
An autopsy performed the next day determined that Doody was the victim of a homicide after suffering blunt-force trauma to his head and slash wounds to his neck.
Richard “Richie” Doody, a retired FDNY lieutenant from Staten Island, was found dead at his home on Long Beach Island on Nov. 23. (Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Advance)Rob Spahr | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Conrad Sipa, a friend on Doody’s, was arrested at his Colts Neck home on Nov. 25, 2015 and charged with Doody’s murder.
Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill told a Superior Court judge in Dec. 2015, that Sipa beat Doody to death with a golf club and that Doody was struck so hard that the force of the blow fractured his skull and split the graphite neck of the club.
Doody’s throat was also slashed and his neck was severed “so severely that his trachea was cut through and through,” O’Neill said.
Prosecutors allege Sipa returned to the crime scene several times during the course of three days in an attempt to clean up the scene of the crime and remove items of evidence from the scene.
Authorities also found Sipa’s fingerprints inside Doody’s home and blood in Sipa’s home, as well as a bail bond receipt for a murder charge – obtained before Sipa was arrested – as if Sipa anticipated getting caught, O’Neill said.
“The evidence is overwhelming. His print is in the victim’s house. We know he was there,” O’Neill said in Dec. 2015. “The evidence suggests he did this.”
The 52-year-old licensed occupational therapist was charged with murder, hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with evidence and multiple weapons offenses.
He was released from jail in 2016 on $1 million bail pending trial.
Authorities said Sipa and Doody met through a travel club and went to several remote locations together, including the Amazon.
Doody’s wife, Virginia “Ginny” Murray, described the retired FDNY firefighter during his Staten Island funeral ceremony as an avid fisher and golfer who spent countless hours with family and friends, placing them first before anything.
The couple purchased their Barnegat Light home in Jan. 2015 and Doody would shuttle between both homes. He played golf every Friday at the Jersey Shore and would also spend many of his days in retirement fishing, Murray said.
“He was a wonderful, caring man; my companion for over 30 years,” she said. “The funniest man I knew.”
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
