James Robert Boergers Jr, was born in New Brunswick, Ohio, and was raised in Monroe Township. He moved to Jacksonville about 8-years-ago, and lived at 4847 Goshawk Drive West. He graduated from Jacksonville University in 2005, and started working full-time with St Johns County the following year. He earned $50,296 a year as a GIS Systems Analyst.
“James Boergers and 32-year-old Kimberly S. Napoli, a mother of three, were staying in a WildWood Retreat rental cabin operated by Hocking Hills Backwoods Retreat on Saturday evening,” a police spokesman in Ohio reported. “Napoli’s ex-husband, 33-year-old Michael Napoli, who lived at 3525 Rangoon Drive in Blendon Township, in northern Franklin County, shot and killed Boergers. Napoli also attacked his ex-wife, Kimberly; inflicting a gunshot to her left shoulder, right forearm, right chest and left buttocks, as well as a knife wound in her neck.
Kimberly Napoli fled the murder scene and remarkably drove to the first house she found in the Hocking Hills; the home of a Logan firefighter and emergency medical technician, Joe Ellis. That coincidence may have saved her life. She was flown by air ambulance to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.
The Napolis were married in 2006 and were divorced last year. They had two children together, and Kimberly has a third child. Police believe that Michael Napoli was enraged to find out that his ex-wife was spending the weekend at WildWood Retreat with James Boergers through comments she posted on facebook and twitter.
A manhunt for Napoli began in the early morning hours Sunday and, just before midnight, the assailant was located in Room 231 of the EconoLodge in Jeffersonville — about 70-miles from where the murder occurred. He had barricaded himself in the room, blocking the door with furniture.
Police say on-again, off-again telephone negotiations continued with Napoli until about 6:15 a.m. Monday morning; at which time, he told police that he was armed. Napoli was becoming increasingly irrational, agitated, and delusional, according to the incident report. Police made the decision to send in an extraction team for the safety of everyone involved.
Police broke the room’s window from the outside, tossed in a percussion grenade, and then sprayed tear gas into the room — but, Napoli did not come out. Upon entry, police found Napoli unconscious, sitting in a chair. He apparently shot himself in the head. Napoli was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton where he was pronounced dead-on-arrival.
Boergers earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems and Geography from JU; and, while he was there, he completed four years of ROTC Training and Officer Candidate School for the United States Marine Corp. He was said to be an avid motorcyclist and boater and friends say that he loved all outdoor activities, especially camping and fishing.
“He also enjoyed participating in many charity motorcycle runs and tinkering with cars and motorcycles in his spare time,” St Johns County spokesman Michael Ryan told Historic City News. “Above all, James loved helping people and spending time with family and friends.”
Legacy is reporting that James is survived by his parents, Donna Boergers of Monroe Twp. and James R. Boergers Sr. of Manalapan; his sister, Janice Boergers of Manalapan; his fiancée, Ria Dela Cruz of Jacksonville, formerly of Edison, their pet Pit Bull Bella, and; many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.
Funeral services will begin at 10:30 AM Saturday with a Mass of Christian Burial from Immaculate Conception Church, Spotswood, with interment to follow at Holy Cross Burial Park, South Brunswick. The family will receive friends on Thursday and Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 PM and 7:00 to 9:00 PM each day at Spotswood Funeral Home, 475 Main Street, Spotswood.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations honoring James’ memory be made to: Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057 or, online at http://www.semperfifund.org.
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