By Walter Elliott
IRVINGTON – The death of Haleem Youngblood here on Jan. 18 has a dubious distinction beyond being this township’s first homicide of 2023.
Irvington police officers, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, responded to an alleged stabbing report from an address along the 100 block of Tichenor Terrace at 2:03 a.m. that Wednesday. They found Youngblood, 35, lying on the kitchen floor with “an apparent stab wound.”
Youngblood was “pronounced dead at the scene at 3:06 a.m.,” 63 minutes later.
An hour and three minutes from being found and being declared dead is a long period compared to Irvington’s other homicide, of Ibn Vincent, 37, on Jan. 19.
IPD officers found Vincent lying in the backyard of a Union Avenue address, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, at 7:36 p.m. that Thursday. He was declared dead at the scene at 7:53 p.m. – 17 minutes later.
Both cases, still under investigation, ae being led by ECPO’s Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force.
ECPO Public Information Office spokesman, Robert Florida, provided “Local Talk” with a partial answer on why the comparatively 63 minute long lead time, Jan. 25.
“Sometimes the Regional Medical Examiner pronounces a person as dead at the scene,” said Florida. “More often, the examiner makes a death pronunciation electronically or remotely.”
The N.J. Regional Medical Examiner, who also conducts autopsies around the “Local Talk” area, is based in Newark.
Municipal police and other law enforcers call the ECPO when an incident or accident causes serious injury or death as soon as they determine the need. The county’s fire investigators are also called to a scene of a serious blaze as a standard operating procedure.
The 63-minute time leaves open whether there was a delay in an EMS technician or rescue squad or ambulance unit’s arrival.
Some EMS listening to a 911 report or a dispatcher’s call, promptly heads to the scene. Some squads are integral with the fire department or as a special police unit; others may be volunteer or contracted private vendors.
The particular incident that led to Youngblood’s death may have been complicated in its being categorized as one of domestic violence.
One published report had “another woman at the scene told authorities that an argument broke out over a board game (and) escalated into a fight over a hole in the wall.”
Youngblood’s homicide investigation continues. There has been no arrest made as of press time. His funeral arrangements have not been disclosed as on Noon Wednesday.
I wish we could shed more light on the fact that this man was the victim of domestic violence , this girl didn’t know him from a can of paint prior to maybe 7 months ago and killed him for nothing …. To add insult to injury she admitted doing it and is walking around freely stealing his money with no remorse for what she did .