Bayside inmate near release now faces new NJ homicide case

Alfred Bishop is charged with the April 2025 overdose death of Ryan Marsh, an inmate at Bayside State Prison. (Photograph by Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson/New Jersey Department of Corrections)

⚠️ A Bayside State Prison inmate is charged after prosecutors say he supplied drugs that killed another prisoner.

➡️ Investigators say the synthetic cannabinoid was sold in exchange for money sent to a woman outside the prison.

🔴 Alfred Bishop was only a few years from release after serving more than two decades for aggravated manslaughter.

MAURICE RIVER — A New Jersey man who has been in prison for more than 20 years is now charged with the drug death of a fellow inmate.

Alfred Bishop, 40, has been an inmate at Bayside State Prison since 2005. At the time, he was convicted of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, terroristic threats, drug possession, and unlawful handgun possession. Bishop was sentenced to between 20 and 24 years in state prison.

Now, prosecutors say Bishop has more blood on his hands. He's charged with first-degree strict liability drug-induced death, third-degree money laundering, third-degree money laundering conspiracy, third-degree distribution and fourth-degree possession of a synthetic cannabinoid. On Tuesday, Bishop was transferred to the Cumberland County jail.

Prosecutors say synthetic cannabinoid killed Bayside inmate

According to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, he's responsible for the death of another man at Bayside State Prison last year.

On April 16, 2025, Ryan Marsh died of a fatal overdose. Medical examiners found that he had consumed a synthetic cannabinoid that killed him. According to prosecutors, Bishop supplied the drug to Marsh in exchange for money.

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Investigators found that a woman on the outside, identified as Ashley Dawley, 20, received the payment for the drug. Dawley is charged with money laundering and money laundering conspiracy, both third-degree offenses. She was arrested and released pending an appearance in Superior Court.

Alfred Bishop (Cumberland County Department of Corrections)

Bishop was serving time for the killing of a 15-year-old girl

Corrections department records show that Bishop was, at most, only a few years from being released after serving more than two decades for aggravated manslaughter.

His conviction is for the March 29, 2005 killing of Elisa Hernandez. According to court records, Bishop admitted that he shot the 15-year-old girl in the face. One witness told police that the girl had refused to kiss Bishop.

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The fatal shooting came during a day when Bishop terrorized two other groups of teenage girls. Earlier that fateful Tuesday, he pulled the gun on a girl for protecting her 13-year-old sister. Hours later, he forced three other girls to get on the ground, and he shot once in the air before riding away on a bicycle.

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