Businessman William Cross Found Brutally Murdered; Town Shocked
August 15, 2021
OXFORD, NJ – A shockwave of horror and disbelief swept through this otherwise tranquil town of Oxford on the ghastly discovery of well-known local businessman William Robert Cross, who was brutally killed in his home on Friday, August 13th. The brutality of the crime left neighbors stunned and law enforcement scrambling for information.
Cross, 52, of Main Street's popular "Cross & Co. Hardware" and a familiar face to his community work, including his diligent service as a deacon at the Oxford First Presbyterian Church, was discovered by a worried neighbor who had not seen him in a couple of days.
Police were called to Cross's residence on Hillcrest Drive late Friday evening. Sources close to the investigation, who preferred not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the case, described a scene of unimaginable cruelty. Mr. Cross was reportedly found on the stairs between his living room and second floor. The brutality with which he was treated has given even seasoned investigators goosebumps. His jaw was reported to have been "busted right off," apparently from being bludgeoned repeatedly and forcefully up against the wooden stairs until it became an "unrecognizable pulp. His lower half torn to shreds, entrails spilling out of his back down the stairs "like an accordion."
"This is a brutal act of something we have never witnessed before in Oxford, or for that matter, Warren County," stated Oxford Chief of Police Harold Jenkins, who spoke with shaking emotion at a brief press conference yesterday. "William Cross was an upstanding man, the pillar of this community. To have had him taken in such a way… it's appalling. Our prayers are with his family."
And one more item of ghastly horror to an already ghastly scene, officials reportedly found a small, leather-bound diary wedged in the twisted guts of Mr. Cross. Initial reports are that it appears to be the property of his deceased wife, Avery Rosalind Cross, who mysteriously vanished nearly seventeen years ago. The significance of this ghastly discovery is now high on the agendas for ongoing investigation.
William Cross was a widower and the devoted single father of Astrid Avery Cross, 19, school dropout-turned-small-town-videostore-clerk. The entire town mourns his death, everyone showing considerable concern about his daughter. "Bill was the best man you ever met," said longtime friend and fellow church member, Sarah Peterson. "He loved Astrid more than anything. The idea of someone doing something like that to him, in his own home… it's just atrocious. Who could possibly be so filled with hate?"
The criminal who committed this horrific crime is still at large. The Warren County Prosecutor's Office and the Oxford Township Police Department are investigating. They would like anyone with information of suspicious activity on Hillcrest Drive on Wednesday, August 11th, and Friday, August 13th, to contact them.
"We are pursuing every lead, and we are not going to let up until justice is served for Mr. Cross and his family," Chief Jenkins promised the public. "But at least for the moment, there is a dangerous individual on the loose, and we urge residents to be vigilant."
The murder of William Robert Cross has cast a shadow over the town of Oxford, as the town is now grappling with fear and the unnecessary loss of a man everyone who ever knew him referred to as respectable, kind, and religious and family-oriented.