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WEDNESDAY 04.08.15

Emotional
testimony
in death of
baby Mason
KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP
FREEHOLD A petite baby sitter stood before a jury
Tuesday and tearfully demonstrated what she said was
her attempt to save a baby from choking on applesauce,
at her trial for murder of a child she said was like part of
her own family.
I hit him hard between the shoulder blades, four or
five times, Michelle Heale told a jury, explaining how
she was able to dislodge applesauce from a choking 14month-old Mason Hess as she baby-sat him in her Toms
River home on Aug. 28, 2012.
I thought he would be a little scared and crying,
Heale said.
But thats not what she said she observed when she
put the baby down on the floor of her family room.
His head snapped back fast, she said. Like a
rag doll, he went completely limp. I threw him back
over my shoulder, and I ran down my hallway to call
911.
Heale, 46, said she checked Masons mouth with her
fingers to see if there still was food lodged in his throat,
and there wasnt any. Then, she said, she checked for a
heartbeat and, finding the baby had one, chose not to
perform chest compressions and waited for help to arrive.
While Heale described her actions as a frantic attempt to save Masons life, prosecutors allege what she

See BABY, Page 4A

Michelle Heale testifying at her trial for the
murder of 14-month-old Mason Hess. Heale is
accused of shaking the baby so hard that his
neck snapped. Mason was reported dead just
days later.
TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Meridian Health
getting bigger via
medical merger

REASONS TO ATTEND THE

REASONS TO ATTEND THE

MUSIC IN FILM
FESTIVAL
Hang like rock stars at
event unlike any other
NICQUEL TERRY @NTERRYAPP

FILE PHOTO

Metallica bassist Robert Trujillos film Jaco: A Documentary

Film, about legendary bass player Jaco Pastorius, screens
Saturday at the Paramount Theatre.

ASBURY PARK MUSIC IN FILM FESTIVAL

1. Theres nothing else like it

ON THE WEB: For tickets, a full schedule and more information, visit apmff.com. Follow the fest on Twitter at #APMFF.

This weekends festival brings a combination of

events that the Jersey Shore hasnt seen in recent
years. For three consecutive days beginning Friday,

PARAMOUNT PASS: This special weekend badge grants you

access to the following films and events at the Paramount
Theatre: Salad Days, DMC Squared, Directing Music Videos &
Concert Films Panel, Take Me to the River, JACO, Talking
Story With Danny Clinch, Made in Japan. Does not include
access to VIP receptions at Paramount. Cost: $75.
DOWNTOWN DAY PASS: This special Saturday badge will
grant you access to all APMFF film blocks at: ShowRoom, BTII
Gallery, City Council Chambers, Salt Studios, The Saint, Palette
Gallery. Does not include access to films at Paramount or Asbury Lanes. Cost: $20.

See HEALTH, Page 4A

See REASONS, Page 5A

Local bands are stars

of Asbury Park festival
CHRIS JORDAN @CHRISFHJORDAN

Individual screenings and performances start at $15.

DAVID P. WILLIS @DPWILLIS732

The merger of Meridian Health, the parent company

of Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and Raritan Bay Health Services Corp., its neighbor in Middlesex County, is moving forward.
After nearly seven months of review, the boards of
trustees for the two not-for-profit health systems have
signed off on the deal, which still requires approval
from state regulators, a step expected later this year.
The merger will create a health care giant in Central
New Jersey and the Jersey Shore, with eight hospitals,
15,000 employees and more than 2,700 physicians on
staff.
It will add Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge
and Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, which
together serve Middlesex County and part of northern
Monmouth County, to Meridians hospitals, Jersey

ASBURY PARK Its a music and film lovers dream.

Spend a weekend in one of the nations best music
cities watching live performances, videos and films
while meeting celebrity musicians.
Sound enticing? If so, pencil the inaugural Asbury
Park Music in Film Festival in your weekend plans because its offering all of that and more.
From Friday to Sunday, the Asbury Park Press and
the Asbury Park Music Foundation will host the festival
at 12 venues including the Paramount Theatre, The
Stone Pony, Wonder Bar, The Saint and Asbury Lanes.
Its taking over the whole city, said Matthew Hockenjos, the festivals executive director. We want people to see what Asbury Park has to offer.
Here are seven reasons why you should attend the
Music in Film Festival:

2
DAYS
TO GO
Get your tickets now!! apmff.com

Video has enhanced the Asbury Park rock star.

City bands have utilized video in multiple formats,
and theyre set to be featured in the inaugural Asbury
Park Music in Film Festival, which takes place Friday,
April 10, through Sunday, April 12, at multiple locales.
Several city bands will be featured in the Soundtrack
of Our Lives night, which takes place Friday night at the
Wonder Bar on Ocean Avenue.
The Battery Electric video for The Heart and the
Thrill came out, and it features local people in the area,
said Christine Feola of the city promotion group Dark
City Entertainment and the promoter of the Wonder Bar
show. Brick and Mortar has full production music
videos actually, theyre films and theyre insane.
The Soundtrack to Our Lives night will feature the
Creeptones performing the music of A Hard Days
Night, the Hive-Mind doing Dawn of the Dead; Wylands take on American Beauty, the Porchistas doing
Platoon, and the Long Faces picking hits from movies
See BANDS, Page 5A

EXCLUSIVE: SECRET PROGRAM TRACKED OUR CALLS LONG BEFORE 9/11 PAGE 1B

Five Shore area

restaurants share
secrets to their
success. TABLE, 1D
ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL
OBITUARIES

5D
1E
4D
3A
15A

OPINION
SPORTS
TABLE
WEATHER
YOUR MONEY

10A
1C
1D
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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 84

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