Timothy Wiltsey
Encyclopedia
Timothy Wiltsey was a 5 year old boy from South Amboy, New Jersey
who was reported missing by his mother, Michelle Lodzinski, on May 25, 1991 from a local carnival.
His story was featured twice on America's Most Wanted
and tens of thousands of missing-persons fliers with Timmy's picture were circulated around the country.
In April 1992, Timmy’s remains were discovered in a creek that runs through a remote, marshy area behind Raritan Center
, a vast industrial park in Edison, New Jersey
where Lodzinski once worked as a secretary.
His murder has never been solved. Michelle Lodzinski was considered the number one suspect in the crime and despite 2 failed lie detector tests and other inconsistencies in her story, she was never charged in the case.
between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Lodzinski reported her son missing after she left him waiting in a carnival ride line while she went to get a soda.
A massive manhunt followed. The carnival was shut down and the park emptied of carnival goers. Hundreds of volunteers, search dogs and police officers combed the park and nearby fields and woods. Police officers and firefighters searched garbage dumpsters, storm sewers and carnival trailers.
On April 23, 1992, authorities found his remains inside a tire in Red Root Creek off Olympic Drive at Raritan Center.
Because of the decomposition of the body, the cause of Timmy's death remains a mystery.
Despite claiming to have spent approximately 90 minutes at the carnival, the authorities could find no one who had seen her son with her that night.
Ten days later at a police interview in Sayreville, Lodzinski claimed two men with a knife had taken her son.
Later that day she returned to the police station with her sister and a friend and recanted the story.
The following day she returned and told a third story that her son had been taken by two men and a woman. She claimed to have known the woman as Ellen, a go-go dancer and bank teller. This woman was never found.
, stumbled upon a child's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sneaker while exploring the marshlands behind Raritan Center. He took the sneaker, which had been highly publicized in missing child fliers as the kind the boy was wearing when he disappeared, to the Sayreville Police Department. Later the sneaker was shown to Lodzinski who stated it was not her son’s. The sneaker was then stored in an evidence area and forgotten about.
For three weeks, O'Malley waited to hear back from the police. When he did not he contacted his local paper, the New Brunswick Home News, and reported his discovery. The paper published a story.
Ron Butkiewicz, an FBI agent who was newly assigned to the Wiltsey case, read about the sneaker, contacted O'Malley and asked him for a tour of the marshes off Olympic Drive where he made his discovery.
Butkiewicz reinterviewed all of Lodzinski's friends and relatives. In the course of one interview, a relative told of all the jobs Lodzinski had held, one of which was in Raritan Center.
Butkiewitz retrieved a map from his car and asked her to put her finger on the area of the industrial complex where Lodzinski had worked.
Her finger on the map simultaneously covered the work location and the spot where the sneaker had been found by O’Malley.
On April 23, 1992, investigators from the Middlesex County
prosecutor's office, the New Jersey State Police
, the Sayreville Police Department and the FBI fanned out across Olympic Drive. In less than a minute, they found a second sneaker 20 to 30 yards from where the first sneaker was found. Two hours later Timothy Wiltsey's skull was discovered inside a tire.
Timmy was buried on May 12, 1992 at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Keyport
.
apartment she shared with her brother Edward.
The next day Lodzinski turned up in Detroit, MI claiming to have been kidnapped by FBI agents who drove her to Michigan "to teach her a lesson for talking about Timmy."
A week after she returned to New Jersey, her brother found an FBI business card with the words "It's not over" taped to their apartment door.
FBI agent Ron Butkiewicz was put back on the case.
Butkiewicz showed Lodzinski a local printer's work order for FBI business cards. Lodzinski's pager number was on it.
Lodzinski admitted to faking the kidnapping but refused to discuss her son’s disappearance. She was sentenced to six months house arrest and three years probation.
In December 1997, Lodzinski pleaded guilty to stealing a laptop computer from her former employer. She was sentenced to three years' probation and spent one day in federal custody for violating the terms of her probation for the FBI hoax. On March 7, 1998, she left New Jersey to live with her sister in Florida.
In 2001, Michelle Lodzinski moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota
where she was married and started a new family. The marriage did not last long and pregnant with her second child she returned to Florida and in 2003 bought a small home in Port St. Lucie, Florida
. She resides there as of 2011.
South Amboy, New Jersey
South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 7,913.South Amboy, and Perth Amboy across the Raritan River, are collectively referred to as The Amboys...
who was reported missing by his mother, Michelle Lodzinski, on May 25, 1991 from a local carnival.
His story was featured twice on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
and tens of thousands of missing-persons fliers with Timmy's picture were circulated around the country.
In April 1992, Timmy’s remains were discovered in a creek that runs through a remote, marshy area behind Raritan Center
Raritan Center
Raritan Center is a large business park located in the southern portion of Edison Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It is one of the largest business parks in the Northeast and the largest in Middlesex County. Raritan Center contains approximately in over 100 buildings of office, research,...
, a vast industrial park in Edison, New Jersey
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
where Lodzinski once worked as a secretary.
His murder has never been solved. Michelle Lodzinski was considered the number one suspect in the crime and despite 2 failed lie detector tests and other inconsistencies in her story, she was never charged in the case.
Circumstances of his disappearance
Michelle Lodzinski was a 23-year-old single mother who told police that she and Timmy went to Holmdel Park in Holmdel earlier in the day. They left Holmdel Park around 6 pm and got to the carnival at Kennedy Park in SayrevilleSayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough located on the Raritan River, near Raritan Bay in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 42,704....
between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Lodzinski reported her son missing after she left him waiting in a carnival ride line while she went to get a soda.
A massive manhunt followed. The carnival was shut down and the park emptied of carnival goers. Hundreds of volunteers, search dogs and police officers combed the park and nearby fields and woods. Police officers and firefighters searched garbage dumpsters, storm sewers and carnival trailers.
On April 23, 1992, authorities found his remains inside a tire in Red Root Creek off Olympic Drive at Raritan Center.
Because of the decomposition of the body, the cause of Timmy's death remains a mystery.
The inconsistencies
Lodzinski had reported to authorities that she and her son had spent time at Holmdel Park earlier in the day. According to park police, the parking lot that she claimed to have parked in was closed that day.Despite claiming to have spent approximately 90 minutes at the carnival, the authorities could find no one who had seen her son with her that night.
Ten days later at a police interview in Sayreville, Lodzinski claimed two men with a knife had taken her son.
Later that day she returned to the police station with her sister and a friend and recanted the story.
The following day she returned and told a third story that her son had been taken by two men and a woman. She claimed to have known the woman as Ellen, a go-go dancer and bank teller. This woman was never found.
Remains found
In October 1991, Dan O’Malley, a high school teacher in Bound BrookBound Brook, New Jersey
Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. At the United States 2010 Census, the population was 10,402.Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1869, within portions of Bridgewater Township...
, stumbled upon a child's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sneaker while exploring the marshlands behind Raritan Center. He took the sneaker, which had been highly publicized in missing child fliers as the kind the boy was wearing when he disappeared, to the Sayreville Police Department. Later the sneaker was shown to Lodzinski who stated it was not her son’s. The sneaker was then stored in an evidence area and forgotten about.
For three weeks, O'Malley waited to hear back from the police. When he did not he contacted his local paper, the New Brunswick Home News, and reported his discovery. The paper published a story.
Ron Butkiewicz, an FBI agent who was newly assigned to the Wiltsey case, read about the sneaker, contacted O'Malley and asked him for a tour of the marshes off Olympic Drive where he made his discovery.
Butkiewicz reinterviewed all of Lodzinski's friends and relatives. In the course of one interview, a relative told of all the jobs Lodzinski had held, one of which was in Raritan Center.
Butkiewitz retrieved a map from his car and asked her to put her finger on the area of the industrial complex where Lodzinski had worked.
Her finger on the map simultaneously covered the work location and the spot where the sneaker had been found by O’Malley.
On April 23, 1992, investigators from the Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
prosecutor's office, the New Jersey State Police
New Jersey State Police
The New Jersey State Police is the state police force for the state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with state wide jurisdiction when requested by the Governor, designated by Troop Sectors.-History:...
, the Sayreville Police Department and the FBI fanned out across Olympic Drive. In less than a minute, they found a second sneaker 20 to 30 yards from where the first sneaker was found. Two hours later Timothy Wiltsey's skull was discovered inside a tire.
Timmy was buried on May 12, 1992 at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Keyport
Keyport, New Jersey
Keyport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,240. Keyport's nickname is the "Pearl of the Bayshore" or the "Gateway to the Bayshore"....
.
Later developments
On January 21, 1994, Lodzinski's car was found idling outside the WoodbridgeWoodbridge Township, New Jersey
-Communities:Many distinct communities exist within Woodbridge Township. Several of these communities have their own ZIP codes, and many are listed by the United States Census Bureau as census-designated places, but they are all unincorporated areas and neighborhoods within the Township that,...
apartment she shared with her brother Edward.
The next day Lodzinski turned up in Detroit, MI claiming to have been kidnapped by FBI agents who drove her to Michigan "to teach her a lesson for talking about Timmy."
A week after she returned to New Jersey, her brother found an FBI business card with the words "It's not over" taped to their apartment door.
FBI agent Ron Butkiewicz was put back on the case.
Butkiewicz showed Lodzinski a local printer's work order for FBI business cards. Lodzinski's pager number was on it.
Lodzinski admitted to faking the kidnapping but refused to discuss her son’s disappearance. She was sentenced to six months house arrest and three years probation.
In December 1997, Lodzinski pleaded guilty to stealing a laptop computer from her former employer. She was sentenced to three years' probation and spent one day in federal custody for violating the terms of her probation for the FBI hoax. On March 7, 1998, she left New Jersey to live with her sister in Florida.
In 2001, Michelle Lodzinski moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota
Apple Valley, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,527 people, 16,344 households, and 12,405 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,625.5 people per square mile . There were 16,536 housing units at an average density of 953.6 per square mile...
where she was married and started a new family. The marriage did not last long and pregnant with her second child she returned to Florida and in 2003 bought a small home in Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The population of Port St. Lucie was 88,769 at the 2000 census but grew rapidly during the 2000s. In 2009 the State of Florida estimated the City's population at 155,251. Port St. Lucie forms part of a metropolitan area called...
. She resides there as of 2011.