Cranford Woman Believed Dead, Union Man Accused of Murder

A Cranford woman, whose body has not been found, is believed to have been killed in a Union Township home earlier this week, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said.

April Wyckoff, 43, is believed to have been killed sometime Tuesday evening inside the home of Matthew Ballister, 43, on Mercer Avenue in Union, Acting Prosecutor Grace H. Park said in a statement Thursday morning.

Ballister has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $2 million bail.

Ballister's mother, Eleanor Schofield, 70, of Mountainside, has been charged with fourth-degree hindering apprehension for allegedly "interfering with the investigation by attempting to assist in [her son's] efforts to conceal evidence of the crime," Park said.

Based on evidence found at the Mercer Avenue home, investigators believe Wyckoff was killed there, but her body had not yet been recovered as of Thursday morning, Park said.

Ballister was believed to be driving a tan or green 2005 Hummer H2 in the hours following Wyckoff's death, authorities said. The New Jersey license plate of the vehicle is J29-CSS. 

Anyone with information on the incident or who had contact with Ballister or Schofield between Tuesday and Wednesday nights, should contact the Detective Robert Henderson, of the Union County Prosecutor's Office, at 908-527-4126 or 908-347-2686.