A Morris County man charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Warren County woman and her puppy last month may have intended to commit other heinous crimes, but his plans went amiss, a Warren County prosecutor said Monday.
Anthony Garvin, 34, of Netcong, appeared to have "lied in wait" to attack Amanda Pulver, 21, as she slept in her family home in Independence Township the morning of June 27, acting Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Brotzman said during a detention hearing in state Superior Court on Monday.
"There was concerning items found during the search that suggest that this was possibly a kidnapping or sexual assault, or possibly other crimes that had gone awry that ended in the death of the victim, the young woman in this case," Brotzman told state Superior Court Judge John Burke.
Garvin consented to remain in the Warren County jail pending the resolution of his case, said Celeste Dudley-Smith, Garvin's attorney. By doing so, Garvin waived any opportunity to offer witnesses or testimony or provide evidence that would counter that presented by the prosecutor's office. It is not an admission of guilt.
While there is a presumption defendants facing murder charges will remain detained pretrial, prosecutors still must file for a hearing and a judge must find probable cause that leads them to believe the defendant committed the crimes they are accused.
Garvin had allegedly fled the Alphano Road home following the shooting and was found later the same day roughly 80 miles west in a town in Pennsylvania. He was charged with murder and possession of a firearm, was placed in the Berks County Prison and was extradited to Warren County Jail on July 5.
Prosecutors filed additional charges against Garvin on July 10 for animal cruelty due to the shooting death of Pulver's dog; two counts of aggravated assault for pointing a handgun at two victims; criminal mischief for breaking into the home; and unlawful possession of a weapon due to having a handgun without a permit.
Garvin arrived at the home in the Great Meadows section of Independence Township during an unknown time in the early morning of June 27 and entered while the family slept, according to court documents.
Several 911 calls reporting "gunshots and screaming" brought police to the house around 8:20 a.m. Pulver, who had been shot in the leg, was taken to Morristown Medical Center where she died, police said.
Garvin allegedly spoke to one witness and told them to call 911 and threatened another with a handgun before he fled, according to the police affidavit.
Police stated several times in records that Garvin and Pulver had an intimate relationship, and cited witnesses who called them exes, but the woman's family contends the connection, telling the New Jersey Herald Garvin was Pulver's former friend and co-worker.
Pulver, a 2021 graduate of Hackettstown High School, left behind her parents and two brothers. She was a freshman in college studying business management with dreams of owning her own house flipping company, according to her obituary. She spent most of her free time with her dog, Dunkin, who family said tried to protect her from Garvin, but had been fatally shot in the process.
Pulver's funeral services were held earlier this month. Garvin is expected back in court in August.
Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.
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