By LYNDA COHEN and MICHELLE LEE Staff Writers | Posted: Friday, November 6, 2009 |
John M. Hilyard went to the Egg Harbor Township Police Station on Wednesday afternoon to report his wife missing. He left later that night in handcuffs, charged with murder.
Hilyard, who shared a contentious relationship with his wife that had drawn police to their home in the past, knew exactly where she was when he made the report, First Assistant Prosecutor Murray Talasnik said Thursday.
Chun-Yan Hilyard was dead, lying near Fenton Mill's Creek, where her husband allegedly left the body after strangling her with a ligature during an argument Tuesday morning in their Bridle Path Drive home, about three miles away.
Just before 8 a.m. Wednesday, a man jogging along Spruce Avenue found the local artist's body lying in the area that resembles one of her lovely landscapes.
Within 12 hours, police would identify Chun-Yan Hilyard, 45, and have her 48-year-old husband in custody for the killing.
"For all that to occur within half a day is remarkable," Talasnik said of the police work.
John Hilyard, a casino dealer since 1984 currently employed by Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, said little during his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.
He quietly told Superior Court Judge Albert Garofolo that he did not need to hear the charges against him.
"I believe so," he replied, when asked if he could afford a lawyer.
The couple had a history of domestic problems.
On Nov. 22, 2000, while living in Brigantine, a fight resulted in arrests for both, according to court records. John Hilyard was charged with simple assault in the incident. His wife was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The case was sent back to municipal court, but no further details were available.
"There was more than one incident," Talasnik said. "Some reported, some not reported."
Just hours before Hilyard appeared in court, victim counselors had to tell the couple's three young children - the eldest 10 years old - that their mother had been killed. The children are temporarily staying with family.
No one was in court on either side Thursday, but several members of Chun-Yan's family were at the couples two-story home earlier in the day, removing suitcases and bags full of her belongings and placing them into two cars.
"She was a great mother," said a crying woman, who identified herself as the victim's cousin. "He's a great father, too. This just happened."
Neighbor Joe Lynch said he didn't know the Hilyards but often saw the couple walking their children to the bus stop in the morning.
"They were a great family," said Christine Price, who lives across the street and has known the couple for years.
"This is just a tragedy," she said, holding back tears. "She was such a sweet lady, and a great mother. I just feel terrible for them, and their children."
Price even has some of Chun-Yan's artwork in her home: a large drawing of Price's son and two Winnie-the-Pooh murals in her nursery.
Price learned that her neighbor was missing Wednesday night, and was afraid the body found hours earlier may have been Chun-Yan's.
But at the Ocean City Arts Center, where Chun-Yan Hilyard was the featured artist in September, Jade Lien was still awaiting word on her friend.
Lien said she spoke with John Hilyard on Wednesday night, and he told her his wife was missing. She thought that was still the case when a reporter called Thursday morning.
"She's dead?" Lien asked in disbelief.
"I just talked to (John) on the phone last night," she said, trying to grasp the news. "I took his cell phone number and told him I would call if I hear anything ..."
She trailed off, as if reliving the conversation.
"He sounded way too composed on the phone," Lien suddenly said.
Center Director Lorraine Hansen was out of town when everything happened. She was shocked by the loss, and the allegations against John Hilyard.
"That's something I still can't bring myself to believe," she said.
She recalled a supportive man who attended his wife's shows, their children in tow.
"We're just very shocked," said Neal McPheeters, owner of Peter McPhee Fine Arts in Stone Harbor, which currently features six of Chun-Yan's landscapes. "I haven't really processed it yet. I don't know what to say."
He had met John Hilyard, who he said seldom talked but appeared affectionate with the family, especially the children.
"They seemed to be very congenial toward each other," McPheeters said. "I never suspected anything wrong between them, not in my presence, at least."
John Hilyard remains in the Atlantic County Jail on $1 million cash bail.
Contact Lynda Cohen:
609-272-7257
LCohen@pressofac.com
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