A Mystery on Barnegat Bay: Bayville Man Goes On Trial Next Week For Fatal Canoe Accident

There are only two people who knew what happened when their canoe overturned in the darkness on Barnegat Bay in the early morning hours of June 10.

One of them, , is dead. The other, , will go on trial Dec. 14 in Berkeley Township Municipal Court to defend himself against charges filed by the New Jersey State Police shortly after the the accident.

Murphy was charged with reckless operation of a vessel and failure to report a fatal boat accident. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Sept. 28, when he was arraigned before Municipal Court Judge John J. Sheehy.

Murphy and Worrall took a canoe out into in the early morning hours of June 10, after attending a post-high school graduation party. The two men — who had both graduated from only two days before — were dropped off by friends near Worrall's Balsalm Drive home in Bayville.

At some point, the canoe overturned in the darkness and both men went into the water. Murphy was able to swim back to shore. Worrall drowned.

Murphy apparently never notified authorities about the accident.The first notification the State Police Marine Services Division received came late in the afternoon of June 10, when an off-duty State Police officer discovered Worrall's body floating in the bay off Amherst Beach.

Ryan Worrall died of accidental drowning, according to an autopsy performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office the day after the accident.

Neither the New Jersey State Police or the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office have released any details about the accident.

Murphy is being represented by attorney Christopher W. Kinum. He could not be reached for comment.

The trial is slated to begin at 8 a.m. on December 14 in municipal court.