Arrest Made in 2018 Murder of 59-year-old Belleplain Woman

Cape May County Prosecutors have announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with the October 31, 2018, death of a Belleplain woman.

Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland, along with New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, have announced the arrest of Josephine A. Scheid on first degree murder charges.

Authorities say she was responsible for the death of Gabrielle Michaelis, 59, of Belleplain.

In a news release, Sutherland provided this information:

During the course of this investigation, on September 23, 2019, the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner ruled Michaelis’ manner of death a homicide and the cause of death as intoxication due to hydromorphine, alprazolam, and lorazepam.
On November 8, 2019, with the assistance of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Detectives with the State Police and the Prosecutor’s Office arrested Josephine Scheid without incident at her residence in the 4000 block of Trails Drive in Sarasota, Florida.
Josephine A. Scheid, a 36 year old white female and daughter of the victim, was charged with murder, a crime of the first degree; computer criminal activity, a crime of the second degree; abandonment / neglect of an elderly person, a crime of the third degree; endangering an injured victim, a crime of the third degree; criminal restraint, a crime of the third degree; misapplication of entrusted property, a crime of the third degree; perjury, a crime of the third degree; tampering with evidence, a crime of the fourth degree; and obstructing the administration of law, a crime of the fourth degree. Scheid was lodged in the Sarasota County Jail pending extradition back to New Jersey.*
Prosecutor Sutherland and Colonel Callahan commend the Major Crimes Detectives from the New Jersey State Police Homicide South Unit and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Sarasota County and Manatee County Sheriff’s Offices in Florida and all of the law enforcement agencies who were involved in this joint homicide investigation.

Sutherland says the investigation is ongoing.