Prosecutors identify couple killed in apparent murder-suicide in Bergenfield, NJ

ByCeFaan Kim WABC logo
Monday, March 21, 2016
11-year-old finds bodies of parents in murder-suicide
CeFaan Kim has more from Bergenfield.

BERGENFIELD, New Jersey (WABC) -- Prosecutors have identified the couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide at their home in Bergenfield.

Annette Torres, who would have turned 37 next weekend, was found dead in an upstairs bedroom. Forty-one-year-old Mark Morris was found in the basement.

Their 11-year-old son, who discovered the bodies Saturday, is in the custody of child welfare officials in New Jersey.

Heartbroken friends of the Bergenfield family were too emotional to speak with Eyewitness News. Their devastation and heartbreak are a result of the shocking discovery inside of the home on West Clinton Avenue.

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal says they are investigating the incident as a domestic-violence based murder suicide.

The gruesome discovery was made even more horrifying with the couple's 11-year-old son being the one who found the bodies.

Investigators say it was around 11:20 Saturday morning when the child reported his parents were not breathing.

Prosecutors say his mother's body was found in an upstairs bedroom. His father's body was found downstairs.

"At this point we believe that the male in the basement died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the had," said Prosecutor Grewal.

Officials are not commenting on the nature of the woman's death. Meanwhile, adding to the shock among neighbors, they say they never noticed any signs of trouble in the home.

"Yeah, they are usually quiet, they hadn't any bad thing (sic), I didn't see anything outside, but they are living goodly, friendly, everything," said one Bergenfield resident.

IT is not clear what sparked the incident, but what is clear, if the allegations are true, the man was a husband 'and' a father. So, by allegedly taking the life of his wife and his own, he has left their son to live with this pain.


(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)