Robert Marshall Dead

Robert Marshall, sentenced three decades ago for organizing his wife's murder in Ocean County, reportedly died during the weekend.

A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Corrections corroborated The Asbury Park Press report that attributed the information to the 75-year-old onetime Toms River businessman's son.

The DOC spokesman indicated that Marshall had suffered ailments for a considerable time, and said that no foul play was involved.

Marshall's long-sought parole hearing was to have taken place in March. He maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration.

Maria Marshall's death at a Garden State Parkway rest area was recounted in a televised film, "Blind Faith." In his fight to regain freedom, Marshall dismantled the prosecution's contentions from his perspective in a book, Tunnel Vision: Trial and Error.

He was arrested in 1984 and was New Jersey's longest-serving Death Row inmate until 2004 when a judge ruled that Marshall received ineffective counsel during the sentencing phase of his trial. Ocean County authorities declined to return to court. Marshall was resentenced to a life term in 2006, with parole eligibility within eight years.