Arson Charges Dropped Against Saddle Brook, N.J., Man; Accuser Charged

SADDLE BROOK, N.J. — Attempted murder and aggravated arson charges filed last week against 36-year-old Bergen County resident Justin Martin have been dismissed “in the interests of justice” after investigators determined that the woman who accused him gave false information to police about how she was burned and who was responsible, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.

In a pair of official releases issued Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office announced that all charges against Martin — whose hometown was listed as Saddle Brook, N.J., in the prosecutor’s Oct. 16 and Oct. 24 releases and as Saddle River, N.J., in the Oct. 23 release — were administratively dismissed on Oct. 23. His accuser, a 33-year-old Eatontown, N.J., woman, was charged Oct. 23 with two counts of falsely incriminating another person and taken into custody at Eatontown Police Headquarters.

Bergen TV is withholding the 33-year-old Eatontown woman’s name under its editorial policy for domestic-relationship allegations, while naming Justin Martin to set the public record straight following Bergen TV’s Oct. 17 report on his initial arrest.

All criminal charges against Justin Martin have been dismissed. The charges against the Eatontown woman are accusations, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

How the case unraveled in eight days

The investigation began at about 1:36 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, when Plumsted Township police and emergency medical services responded to a wooded area near Hawkin Road and Success Road in Ocean County after a 911 call about a female burn victim. First responders found the 33-year-old woman in distress and suffering from burns; she was taken to the Temple University Burn Center in Philadelphia, where she was treated and released days later, according to the prosecutor’s office.

During the initial investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and New Jersey Conservation Police, the woman claimed that while she, Martin and another person were in the wooded area, her boyfriend tried to burn and kill her, the Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 releases state. Based on that allegation, detectives located Martin in Asbury Park at about 12:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16, took him into custody without incident, and lodged him in the Ocean County Jail on charges of attempted murder and aggravated arson.

Three days later, on Monday, Oct. 19, Martin was released from the Ocean County Jail. According to court proceedings reported by NJ.com, Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Mara Brater told a Superior Court judge that day that “it was learned today that there are recorded statements of the victim indicating that this defendant didn’t have anything to do with the assault on her,” and asked that Martin be freed while detectives investigated further.

According to Billhimer’s Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 releases, continuing investigation confirmed that the woman “provided false information to law enforcement about how she sustained her injuries and who caused those injuries.” On Friday, Oct. 23, she was charged with two counts of falsely incriminating another and lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing, and all charges against Martin were administratively dismissed in the interests of justice.

Billhimer credited the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, New Jersey Conservation Police, Plumsted Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Asbury Park Police Department, Eatontown Police Department, Keansburg Police Department, and Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.

More Bergen TV coverage of Bergen County courts and public safety: Oct. 17 report (updated): Saddle Brook, N.J., man charged with attempted murder in Ocean burning; Saddle Brook, N.J., raid seizes 90 pot plants; resident faces charges; and Upper Saddle River, N.J., homeowner hired men to burn house, BCPO says.

Sources

• Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office release, Oct. 24, 2026: “Charges Against Saddle Brook Man Dismissed”
• Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office release, Oct. 23, 2026: “Eatontown Woman Charged With Two Counts of Falsely Incriminating Another”
• Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office release, Oct. 16, 2026: “Saddle Brook Man Charged With Attempted Murder and Aggravated Arson”
• NJ.com report on Oct. 19, 2026 Superior Court release hearing