Autopsy: NJ hostage-taker shot in head, woman had been stabbed and beaten; teen's autopsy next

Published January 13, 2015

Officials say the woman whose decomposing body was found in a New Jersey home after a 37-hour standoff had stab wounds to the chest and blunt force trauma to the head.

Police identified the woman as 44-year-old Carmelita Stevens but the county prosecutor's office didn't confirm her identity Monday.

Authorities say Stevens' boyfriend killed her and her 13-year-old son as much as two weeks before his armed standoff with police began Friday. Three of Stevens' four other children were rescued when officers stormed her Trenton home and fatally shot 38-year-old Gerald Tyrone Murphy.

Mercer County prosecutors say it hasn't yet been determined when the woman was killed. An autopsy on the teen is set for Tuesday.

A separate autopsy found Murphy died of a single gunshot wound to the head.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/autopsy-nj-hostage-taker-shot-in-head-woman-had-been-stabbed-and-beaten-teens-autopsy-next