NORRISTOWN — A Perkiomen Township man accused of using a hammer to fatally beat his girlfriend must answer to homicide charges in Montgomery County Court.
William Roy Carey Jr., 46, of the 500 block of Gravel Pike, was ordered to stand trial, after a preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Adam T. Katzman, on charges of first- and third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the alleged Nov. 1, 2024, fatal beating of his girlfriend, Jessica Zipkin, during a domestic disturbance inside the Gravel Pike apartment.
Carey, who remains in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville without bail while awaiting trial, faces a formal arraignment hearing on the charges in county court later this year. After that hearing, a judge will schedule Carey’s trial date.
The investigation began about 1:25 a.m. on Nov. 2 when state police at Skippack responded to the apartment after a 911 caller reported there might be a deceased female at that location.
Troopers arrived and found Zipkin, 34, face down on a bedroom floor with a fatal wound to the back of her head.
“Zipkin had apparent blunt force trauma to the back of her head. Directly next to her body was a red hammer covered in blood,” state police Trooper Richard Vose and county Detective Mark Minzola wrote in the criminal complaint.
An autopsy determined that Zipkin died of blunt force trauma to the head and had been struck multiple times in the head. Zipkin’s death was ruled a homicide.
According to court documents, investigators recovered blood-stained clothing and shoes that Carey was wearing when he allegedly killed the woman. Police also obtained a video depicting Carey entering nearby buildings where he allegedly disposed of the clothing and his cellphone.
Neighbors reportedly told investigators they heard a loud argument and a woman screaming at about 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 1.
A conviction of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice or hardness of heart and cruelty, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.