On Wednesday Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez stated that remains recovered last month from the Hudson River have been positively identified as the male victim of a Hoboken Homicide.
Prosecutor Suarez, in a press release from the Prosecutor’s Office, said, “On Sunday, March 23, 2025, at approximately 2:15 p.m., the Hoboken Police Department and Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit were notified that a human body was found in the Hudson River near Pier C Park. Responding officers located remains of an adult male, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office later conducted multiple forensic examinations in an effort to identify the male. On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the Hudson County DNA Laboratory issued a report to the Regional Medical Examiner, which included a DNA match for a male victim. Following that, the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office positively confirmed the identity of the male as Julio Flores, 23, of Passaic. The Cause of Death was determined to be a Gunshot Wound to the Head and the Manner to be Homicide.”
Suarez went on to say that on Sunday, February 2, 2025, the Lodi Police Department contacted the Hoboken Police Department and the Homicide Unit after they received multiple tips that a male had been fatally shot a day earlier in a restricted area of the Hoboken waterfront near Castle Point Skate Park. Following an extensive, four-day investigation utilizing numerous investigative resources, the Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit determined that 26-year old, Lodi resident Erick Fernandez, fatally shot Flores near the skate park. After the shooting, Fernandez fled with the victim’s personal belongings, which included his vehicle. He later returned to the scene to dispose of Flores’ body in the Hudson River.
Authorities issued a warrant for Fernandez’ arrest on Thursday, February 6, 2025. At the time the warrant was signed, Fernandez was in custody at the Garfield Police Department on an unrelated matter.
Suarez says Fernandez has been charged with murder, a crime of the first degree; felony murder, a crime of the first degree; unlawful possession of a weapon, a crime of the second degree; possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, a crime of the second degree; disturbing/desecrating human remains, a crime of the second degree; hindering, a crime of the third degree; certain persons not to possess a weapon, a crime of the third degree; and robbery, a crime of the first degree. Fernandez is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit with assistance from the Hoboken Police Department, the Lodi Police Department, the Hawthorne Police Department, the Garfield Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the Stevens Institute of Technology Police Department, the New York City Police Department, the Hudson County DNA Laboratory, and the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office with this investigation.
The above charges are merely accusations and Fernandez is presumed innocent until proven guilty.