Edison man charged in death

FRANKLIN - An Edison man has been charged in the death of a Franklin man after an altercation on June 22, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

John H. Lee, 39, was charged with first-degree murder after the June 24 death of Jeffrey Johnson, 45. According to a release issued from the prosecutor's office, Lee and Johnson had been involved in an altercation that ended with Lee allegedly hitting Johnson in the back of the head with an unknown object.

Johnson was pronounced dead on June 24 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

According to the release, during the late evening hours of June 22, Lee and Johnson had become embroiled in a verbal argument that became physical.

Police said a witness, identified only as a lifelong friend of Lee, allegedly saw Lee hit Johnson in the back of the head with an unknown object, after which Johnson fell to the ground, unresponsive.

According to the prosecutor's release, shortly after the incident, Lee fled to the home of a family member and attempted to clean himself and change his clothes, which witnesses at the house said had blood on them.

Lee then demanded to be driven to the city of Trenton; he was, and later returned to Somerset County, the release said, where he turned himself in.

He is being held on $500,000 bail at the Somerset County jail.