Vineland, NJ: Vineland murder victim’s mother says she was not engaged to man accused of killing her

VINELAND — Britton Loyden and the man accused of killing her last week had no relationship for the past 16 months, Loyden’s mother, Tracy Freese, said.
Ismael Pierce, 24, of the 900 block of South Spring Road, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on a charge of murder, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said.
Pierce is the father of Loyden’s 1-year-old son, and on social media sites MySpace and Twitter, the two talked about their relationship before her murder.
But Freese, in an email sent to The Press of Atlantic City, said Pierce was not her daughter’s fiance.
Freese reported Loyden missing late Thursday night, and she also reported Loyden’s son as missing, authorities said.
An investigation by Detectives Antonio Ramos and Ron DeMarchi of the local Police Department revealed Loyden’s son was in Pierce’s custody Friday. Authorities also said they found Loyden’s body in a bedroom in her home.
Members of Loyden’s family did not respond to requests from The Press of Atlantic City for further comment about Loyden and Pierce.
Previously, Loyden wrote on MySpace about a year ago that she was “engaged to my best friend and the love of my life. He made me a mommy and I’m loving every second of it.”
But Pierce told his friends on Twitter on Thursday that “nothing is how we planned it to be, one big insanity plea.” Pierce posted his last tweet on Friday, writing, “Tryin’ to remain relaxed.”
Authorities on Monday would not provide additional details regarding Loyden’s death. Webb-McRae declined comment on how Loyden, 23, was killed.
Pierce is charged with murder. The charge was upgraded from aggravated manslaughter following an autopsy performed on Loyden on Saturday. He is being held in the Cumberland County jail on $500,000 cash bail.
This is the second homicide to occur in Cumberland County in two weeks.