New DNA tech leads to arrests in Burlington County murder case

🔺Nearly a decade after a Burlington County man was killed, police charge two men with murder.
🔺In September 2016, Norman Mosley was shot in the head and the chest by violent intruders.
🔺Suspects were identified in the long-running investigation, bolstered by DNA results.

Nearly a decade after a Burlington County man was killed in a deadly home invasion, police have finally been able to charge two men with murder.

In September 2016, Norman Mosley was shot in the head and the chest by violent intruders inside his home in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township, police said.

The 37-year-old Mosley died not long after at a local hospital.

Investigators zeroed in on Kevin D’Costa, of Irvington, and Daemen Hodge, also of Browns Mills, as the accused killers.

It was not until a recent breakthrough, thanks to enhanced forensic technology, that they were able to charge 45-year-old D’Costa and 32-year-old Hodge with first-degree counts of felony murder, robbery, and conspiracy.

Both defendants have also been charged with three second-degree weapons offenses.

Enhanced DNA technology cracks nearly decade-old case

On Sept. 25, 2016 just before 10 p.m., attackers wearing masks entered the Alfred Drive trailer that Mosley shared with his girlfriend, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said.

A violent struggle broke out and Mosely was shot twice.

His girlfriend rushed him to a nearby hospital where he died an hour later.

Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined Mosley’s cause of death to be gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

Following Mosley’s killing, investigators combed a wide perimeter to search for potential evidence, and recovered gloves from along a nearby road.

In what Bradshaw called an “unrelenting investigation spanning nearly a decade,” recent enhanced DNA testing on the gloves showed DNA from D’Costa, Hodge and the victim.

Results gave police the edge to pursue homicide charges.

⚖️ Arrests bring long-awaited justice for Mosley family

D’Costa was served with his warrant last month at Essex County Jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges.

Hodge was arrested on Friday and taken to Burlington County Jail, pending a first court appearance.

“We are thrilled to finally bring justice to the Mosley family,” Bradshaw said in a written release.

Since his death, Mosley’s family and supporters have regularly attended prosecutor’s office candlelight vigils for crime victims, carrying banners and wearing shirts with Mosley’s photo.

“The public is conditioned by crime shows to believe that the challenges of criminal investigations always fall into place immediately, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Bradshaw added.

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