Kuldeep Kumar, 35 and originally from India, was reported missing by his family in Ozone Park, New York on October 26, 2024 after they lost contact with him. At the time he vanished he was seeking asylum in the United States and had an immigration hearing scheduled the day after his disappearance; he had told immigration authorities he feared for his life and persecution.

Nearly seven weeks later his body was found on December 14, 2024 in a wooded area of the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area in Manchester Township, New Jersey. The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, listing multiple gunshot wounds to the chest as the cause.

Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police, and the FBI described the killing as apparently retaliatory, saying the suspects believed Kumar was responsible for the death of one suspect’s sister. If anyone has information about Kumar’s movements in late October 2024 or about the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area around mid-December, please come forward.