GUNNED DOWN
Ewing man shot dead outside of his home
EWING >> As the sun rose early Sunday morning, crime scene investigators snapped pictures of blood splatter and the deceased body of a township man who was gunned down outside of his home.
Residents say they heard a “loud explosion” and then a “pop” several hours prior, but they never stepped outside to investigate the noise.
When citizens eventually emerged from their homes, they were greeted by police cars and crime scene tape.
Bill Blackwell, 58, was shot and killed near the intersection of Homecrest and Chelsea avenues. His body lay covered by a white sheet Sunday morning as investigators snapped pictures of a shop vacuum and other items that were on the ground next to his truck in front of his house.
Residents believe Blackwell returned home around 3 a.m. Sunday after spending time with friends in Lambertville. No one knows why Blackwell was targeted, but citizens say police believe it was a random robbery gone awry. Law enforcement were dispatched to the scene around 6 a.m. Sunday.
Officials have not released a statement regarding the murder at this time. But residents believe Blackwell was removing items from the back of his Ford truck when someone shot him.
Citizens say there were no sounds such as a slammed car door, screeching tires or anything else that would have led them to believe suspects were fleeing the scene of a crime. In fact, one resident thought something may have exploded a few blocks away, so they never looked outside to see what happened.
People who knew him described Blackwell as a quiet, private person who loved race cars. They say he was an avid bowler and a very neighborly person who used to plow snow for others on the block during the winter months.
His friends say Blackwell has lived in that Ewing neighborhood for more than 20 years. They say he was employed at a factory in Flemington.
“RIP, Bill,” Anthony Celeste wrote on Facebook. “You will be missed. I definitely enjoyed the times we had both as coworkers and friends outside of work.”
Residents say the neighborhood where the shooting occurred is normally quiet. They say disturbances in the neighborhood are usually caused by delivery trucks, school buses and other drivers who try to avoid traffic lights.
“We get a lot of Trenton traffic,” a resident who asked to remain anonymous said. “A lot of people escape down Chelsea Avenue.”
Blackwell is survived by children, siblings and his mother. His wife Linda passed away last year due to illness, according to her obituary.
So far this year, two people have been murdered in Ewing. Rufina Castro was bludgeoned with a beer bottle and strangled to death inside her Ewingville Road home in August. Her boyfriend Carlos Ortiz was later charged with murder in connection with her death.
Anyone with information about Blackwell’s murder is asked to call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406.