Seaside Heights woman charged in connection to hiding accused Manchester killer

Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read

Authorities charged a Seaside Heights woman with harboring a fugitive from justice, saying she hid a man accused of murdering a woman in Manchester last month.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer's office charged 29-year-old Elizabeth Mascarelli on Saturday, July 6, following an hours-long standoff with police in Toms River on July 5.

Billhimer said Mascarelli helped to hide Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester at an address on Ravenwood Drive in Toms River. Johnston is accused of killing Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights.

A red haired woman who emerged from the Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon, July 5, 2024, where Maxwell Johnston had been barricaded is taken into custody by SWAT officers. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.
A red haired woman who emerged from the Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon, July 5, 2024, where Maxwell Johnston had been barricaded is taken into custody by SWAT officers. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.

On Friday, detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Manchester Township Police and U.S. Marshals Service found Johnston at the Ravenwood Drive home, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Authorities were searching for Johnston for days and accused him of the fatal shooting of Caroleo on June 27 in Manchester.

Caroleo, the mother of a 3-year-old son, was found shot in the stomach at Ridgeway Road and Hope Chapel Road in Manchester.

Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was wanted for murder in the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, in Manchester on June 27. A little more than a week later, Johnston killed himself during a standoff with law enforcement in Toms River.
Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was wanted for murder in the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, in Manchester on June 27. A little more than a week later, Johnston killed himself during a standoff with law enforcement in Toms River.

At the Ravenwood Drive home, U.S. Marshals called people out of the home and three left, but Johnston and Mascarelli stayed inside, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Johnston was armed and an hours-long standoff ensued, according to authorities.

Mascarelli eventually came out of the home to be treated at Community Medical Center for wounds suffered during the ordeal, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

"Further investigation revealed that Mascarelli had allowed Johnston to stay at the residence on Ravenwood Drive with her for four days — despite her knowledge of the murder of Ms. Caroleo and Johnston’s alleged involvement in it," the Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.

Authorities charged Mascarelli at the hospital with harboring a fugitive from justice. She will be transferred to the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, once released from Community Medical Center, the Prosecutor's Office said.

Johnston was found dead inside the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 15 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seaside Heights woman hid alleged killer, says Prosecutor