Authorities say a woman who claimed her boyfriend brutally burned her and left her for dead during a camping trip in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens fabricated the attack.
Chelsea M. Villano, 33, of Eatontown, New Jersey, now faces two counts of falsely incriminating another person, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The unusual case began Oct. 15, when Plumsted Township emergency responders were dispatched to the Pine Barrens following a 911 call about a woman who had allegedly been burned and abandoned at a campsite.
Responders found Villano suffering from burns and smoke inhalation, according to Patch.com. She was intubated and flown to Temple University Burn Center in Philadelphia, where she was treated and released several days later.
Authorities were told that Villano’s injuries were more consistent with fire blowback, Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Mara Brater said, according to Patch.com.
“Had she actually been submerged or [had fire] blown in her face intentionally, her injuries would have been much more severe,” Brater said.
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Villano initially told detectives that her boyfriend, Justin D. Martin, 36, splashed her with alcohol before trying to kill her by putting her in a fire. She said they had been camping with another man and that Martin fled in a Chrysler 200, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Martin was arrested Oct. 16 and charged with attempted murder and aggravated arson.
Three days later, Brater asked a Superior Court judge to release Martin, saying, “It was learned today that there are recorded statements of the victim indicating that this defendant didn’t have anything to do with the assault on her.”
The charges against Martin were dismissed on Oct. 23.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office told The Post that Villano was released from the Ocean County Jail on Oct. 28.
The Pine Barrens are notorious for their association with organized-crime burial sites. The area also inspired the famous “Pine Barrens” episode of The Sopranos and is linked to the legend of the Jersey Devil.