Mother arrested in death of Timothy Wiltsey

Twenty-three years after five-year-old Timothy Wiltsey disappeared from a Sayreville fair, his mother has been arrested and charged with his murder.

Timothy Wiltsey and Michelle Lodzinski (Martin County, Florida Sheriff's Office)

Michelle Lodzinski was arrested Wednesday in Jensen Beach, Florida after a grand jury in Middlesex County handed up an indictment charging her with murder. The 47-year-old is being held without bail following a 10-second court appearance Thursday afternoon, according to the most recent Associated Press report.

She did not yet have an attorney for the video appearance from jail. It wasn't known whether she would agree to return to New Jersey, where a judge set her bail at $2 million, according to the most recent Associated Press report.

Mother and son went to a fair at Kennedy Park in Sayreville in May, 1991. Lodzinski told police the 5-year-old disappeared after he went to get a soda, according to a statement on the Martin County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

CBS New York recalls the disappearance prompted searches around the country as his picture in the pre-internet era was handed to 25,000 Conrail employees in 13 states. Searchers scoured the South Amboy waterfront and the boy's photo was shown on the big screen at the old Yankee Stadium.

Michelle Lodzinski following her arrest in Florida (Martin County Sheriff's Office)

The child's skeletal remains were found in April 1992 in nearby Edison. The Star-Ledger reports police began to question Lodzinsk's story as no one could recall seeing the boy leave the fair with two men, as she originally claimed. She eventually changed her story, the paper reports, but there was not enough evidence for police to charge her. She moved out of state, living in both Minnesota and Florida at various times, and had two other children.

The case was presented to a grand jury after a new investigation into the case said Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey in a statement. The grand jury concluded Lodzinski “did purposely or knowingly kill Timothy Wiltsey, or did purposely or knowingly inflict serious bodily injury upon Timothy Wiltsey, resulting in his death…”

It's not known if the Port St. Lucie, Florida, resident will waive extradition and return to New Jersey.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office asks anyone with information about the case to call (732) 745-2957.