NJ father accused of abandoning toddler in Del. pleads not guilty to killing her mother

NJ man denies killing abandoned toddler’s mom

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A New Jersey man accused of abandoning his young daughter at a Delaware gas station has pleaded not guilty to murdering the toddler’s mother.

Twenty-five-year-old Dwayne Jackson, of Edison, appeared Monday in state Superior Court in New Brunswick, N.J.

He is charged with killing 25-year-old Patricia Belizaire of North Brunswick. Her burning body was found in an upstate New York park Feb. 22.

Jackson also faces a child endangerment charge in New Jersey and a reckless endangerment charge in Delaware.

The couple’s 20-month-old daughter was found unharmed in the restroom of a gas station in Newark, Del., the day before police found her mother’s body.

The child is in the care of Delaware’s Division of Family Services.