Anthony Anderson
A city man found stabbed to death Monday underneath a large tree trunk had a sordid past.
Anthony C. Anderson, 56, of the 600 block of North Clinton Avenue, was convicted in 2011 of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance under 13 years old, according to the state’s Megan’s Law Registry. He was sentenced to six years in jail, court records show.
Prosecutors confirmed Thursday the date of birth of the deceased victim and the sex offender matched.
Anderson, who also went by the aliases Tony Anderson and Anthony Jay, was listed as a “Tier 2 - Moderate Risk” offender in the database. He was released from state prison in May 2014, New Jersey Department of Corrections records outline.
The 2011 case was not the first time Anderson was convicted of molesting a child.
In 1989, Anderson pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child under 13 years old for sexual abuse, court records indicate. Under a plea bargain, a sexual assault of a minor charge was dropped in the case and Anderson was sentenced to three years of probation, records show.
A decade later, Anderson was wrapped up in another criminal case. He was charged with carjacking and multiple drug charges, according to court documents.
Under a plea agreement, Anderson confessed in 2000 to a distribution of cocaine charge, records show. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Authorities confirmed Wednesday after getting back the preliminary results of an autopsy that Anderson had been stabbed to death. He was dumped on the first block of Taylor Street and was found in a garbage-filled stretch behind an abandoned row home.
A neighbor cutting grass discovered the man’s decomposing body on a grassy trail paralleling Taylor Street around 2:30 p.m. on Memorial Day. The stench overpowered the neighborhood as people gathered outside to barbecue.
Anderson, who was born in Illinois, was found with a large tree trunk covering his head, according to photos provided to this newspaper. He was laying on his back, with his bloated, bare chest exposed and his lifeless fingers by his side near some concrete blocks.
Prosecutors did not immediately reveal how many times Anderson, who was listed as 5’7” and weighs 175 pounds, was stabbed and where.
No one has been arrested in connection with the murder. Anyone with information that may help police solve the crimes is asked to call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406.
Staff reporters Isaac Avilucea and Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman contributed to this report.
A partially decomposed body was found in an area behind this home on Taylor Street.