The Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department are investigating a fatal fire in the city.
On Sunday, October 24, 2022, the Trenton Fire Department was dispatched to a residence in the first block of Summer Street after midnight.
After firefighters extinguished the blaze, they located the body of a deceased adult male on the first floor.
The Homicide Task Force responded with detectives from the office of Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri and Trenton police.
The circumstances surrounding the fire and the death appeared to be suspicious and are under investigation.
The victim has been identified as Brian Wharton, 57, of Trenton, who was staying at the residence where the fire occurred.
Wharton, known to friends by the nickname Mooka abullah azim, attended Trenton High School and was said to be an easy-going good man with a good heart.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406. Tips can also be emailed to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.
More people have been murdered since Mayor Reed Gusciora was elected in 2018 than under any previous administration, even those that lasted five times longer.
Gusciora is being challenged by Council President Kathy McBride and two others in the November election.