🔻 NJ convicted killer gets prison
🔻 Shot victim, hid body
🔻 Victim was dating ex, court records show


A 32-year-old Vineland man has been sentenced to three decades in prison for killing a Salem County man, then stashing the body under yard debris more than three years ago.

In December, Brandon Dennis was convicted by a Cumberland County jury of eight charges, including the second-degree passion provocation manslaughter of 32-year-old Patrick Trotter, of Penns Grove.

Patrick Trotter, killed in Millville NJ (circle-of-life-funeral.com)
Patrick Trotter, killed in Millville NJ (circle-of-life-funeral.com)
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Dennis was also found guilty of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, burglary, desecration of human remains, criminal mischief, hindering
and possession of a weapon by a convicted person.

On Monday, Dennis received an aggregate sentence of 30 years — 23 of which he must serve before being eligible for parole, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae announced.

Read More: NJ man, 42, gets 60 years in prison for double murder

Millville (Google Maps, Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)
Millville (Google Maps, Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)
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Millville Police and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office responded on Oct. 23, 2021 to the discovery of Trotter’s body in a wooded area behind a home along E. Main Street, where the victim had been a houseguest.

A woman told investigators that Dennis, her ex, showed up outside her home , "asking who was in her bed,” The Daily Journal previously reported, citing a criminal complaint.

When she said it was none of his business, Dennis broke a window and door, and then shot Trotter twice as the victim ran outside.

Read More: Prison for ‘Real Housewives of NJ’ ex and accomplice for break-in

Brandon Dennis sentenced for killing victim in NJ (Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office)
Brandon Dennis sentenced for killing victim in NJ (Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office)
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The woman said she hid from Dennis and heard him threaten her life as he buried the body under grass clippings, leaves, and trash before leaving, the same report said.

Dennis was arrested about three weeks after the deadly incident.

While clearing him of a murder charge, the jury found Dennis qualified as a persistent offender.

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