Brother of slain Linden High School grad acquitted of 2019 Rahway murder
ELIZABETH – The brother of a Linden High School graduate whose 2012 killing remains unsolved has been acquitted of all charges in the 2019 shooting death of a 25-year-old Linden man in Rahway.
Daymon Duncan-Wilson, of Passaic, now in his early 30s, was found not guilty of the murder of Saquan Hurling on Tuesday afternoon following a trial before Superior Court Judge Candido Rodriguez Jr.
"I think Mr. Duncan-Wilson is extremely grateful, and I'm extremely grateful to the jury for seeing the truth of the matter and that the system prevailed, that the state failed to demonstrate this man's responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt and the jury saw that and it reaffirmed faith in the system," said Duncan-Wilson’s attorney Jason LeBoeuf of the Ziegler Law Group in Livingston.
The verdict was reached after about two days of deliberations following a trial that opened on Feb. 16.
Duncan-Wilson was facing 30 years to life in prison on the charges of murder, a first-degree crime, and unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, both second-degree crimes.
Early June 29, 2019, Rahway police responded to the 500 block of Harrison Street where Hurling's body was found in a vehicle and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the prosecutor's office.
Hurling, a 2012 Linden High School graduate, worked as an audio engineer at KS One Studios in Rahway from May 2015 to 2019, according to his obituary.
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A joint investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force, Rahway Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and Union County Police Department Ballistics Unit led to Duncan-Wilson being identified as a suspect in the case. Criminal charges were filed against him on Sept. 3, 2019, and he had been in custody since his arrest. LeBoeuf said Duncan-Wilson was released around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The attorney said that before the shooting, the victim allegedly told others that he felt a former girlfriend, with whom he had a contentious relationship, was following him that night.
"The focus of my defense was the fact that there was blood splatter in the car but none on my client in the video that they showed,” LeBoeuf said. “There was no evidence of a gun in any of the videos they showed, and no gun was ever recovered and most importantly that the police didn't explore something the victim had talked to other people about, and my defense was they didn't do a good job following up on that.”
Duncan-Wilson is the brother of Amber Duncan-Wilson, who was fatally shot on July 9, 2012, while walking with a friend on Hussa Street in Linden, just days after she graduated from Linden High School. Amber Duncan-Wilson was robbed before being shot in the head. In the 10 years since her murder, no one has been arrested or charged in connection with her death.
The Union County Homicide Task Force and Linden Police Department continue to investigate her homicide.
At the time of Daymon Duncan-Wilson’s arrest, his father Norman Duncan said his son claimed he didn't kill Hurling. LeBoeuf said Norman Duncan, who moved several years ago from Linden to Passaic, attended most if not all the trial to support his son. Other family members also attended to support Duncan-Wilson.
"It was pretty much a full courtroom every day of the trial," said LeBoeuf, adding many members of the victim’s family also attended.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Passaic NJ man acquitted of 2019 Rahway murder
