Murder charges filed in 2020 death of man found shot to death on I-295 in Bristol Township
A 36-year-old Trenton man is facing murder charges in the 2020 death of another New Jersey man whose body was found on the shoulder of a Bristol Township highway.
Following a eight-month investigation, a Bucks County grand jury recommended filing first-degree murder charges against Robert Shannon Christie in the death of Joshua McRae, 31, also of Trenton. An arrest warrant has been filed for Christie.
Bucks County 911 was notified about a body lying on the side of I-295 near the Pennsylvania Turnpike on-ramp shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2020, according to a probable cause affidavit. The Pennsylvania State Police, who handled the investigation, identified the victim as McRae.
More on this 2020 cold casePolice still investigating body found on I-295
An autopsy determined that he died of multiple gunshot wounds. At the time, authorities did not know how McRae ended up on the side of the Bucks County highway, dead.
According to the affidavit, the case was presented to the Bucks County grand jury in January. A copy of the grand jury presentment was not immediately available on Friday, though this news organization requested one from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
The charges against Christie, which includes illegal possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence, leaves six unsolved murders in Bucks County since 2019.
Christie has no other previous arrest history in Bucks County, but he currently is entangled in a wrongful prosecution lawsuit in New Jersey, records show.
In July 2020, Christie sued four Trenton police officers, the city and its police director in Mercer County Superior Court alleging he was stopped, detained and arrested without probable cause in August 2018. The suit is still active, according to the court docket.
In his suit, Christie alleges he was incarcerated on charges of receiving stolen property and unlawful possession of weapons after police falsely claimed they saw him toss a gun underneath a car near a Trenton bar. The gun, which was reported stolen, was loaded with hollow-point bullets.
In 2020, Christie’s lawyer successfully argued the police did not have probable cause to stop him and the weapons charges were dismissed.
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Charges filed in 2020 murder of Trenton man found along I-295 in Bristol
