Lodi dad who sparked Amber Alert could be extradited

LODI (WABC) -- The New Jersey man accused of murdering his estranged wife and abducting his children in an incident that sparked an Amber Alert and a multi-state manhunt is awaiting extradition back to our area.

Investigators say John Jordan killed 39-year-old Tracy Jordan, then took the couple's 7- and 8-year-old sons to South Carolina.

John Jordan was captured Saturday and is facing murder and weapons charges.

His sons were not harmed.

Police arrived at Tracy Jordan's home to conduct a welfare check Friday night and found her dead of multiple stab wounds. Her worried mother had called police after she hadn't been able to get a hold of her and no one answered a knock at the door, a family friend said.

Police then learned that John Jordan had taken their young sons out of school under false pretenses. The boys lived with their mother.

The Amber Alert was issued in New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and police and the FBI began to conduct surveillance on various homes in South Carolina and California, where some of his relatives lived.

The father of the murdered woman returned to his daughter's apartment Monday for the first time since the crime occurred to gather some clothes for her funeral. They left the building with the police chie of Saddle Brook, who is also a family member.

"Now our job is to lay to rest our beloved Tracy and continue to pray for the safety and welfare of the children," said chief Robert Kugler.

He is related to the victim by marriage and has known her since she was a child. Now he says the family wants her two boys, Nicholas and Anthony, returned to New Jersey.

The kids maternal grandmother is seeking permanent custody of the boys.

"Our hope is that we can reunite the boys into the environment that they're used to, and that the grandmother and the aunts and the family members that have seen these boys as a daily occurrence continue to see them as soon as possible," said Kugler.

At around 12:45 a.m. Saturday, FBI and local police officers in Greenville, South Carolina, saw Jordan pull up at a residence in his wife's car, prosecutors said. He was arrested without incident shortly afterward, and the children were found unharmed in the vehicle.

Jordan has been charged with murder and possessing a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He remains in custody in South Carolina awaiting extradition proceedings, and Bergen County prosecutors said his bail would not be set until his first court appearance in New Jersey.

Marie Dejulia, who knows the family, told The Record of Woodland Park that Tracy Jordan had anticipated that her divorce would be finalized in the coming days. Dejulia said Jordan worked in a women's clothing store in Secaucus and had been dating her brother.

Dejulia told the newspaper that Jordan's mother went to her apartment in the Cynthia Gardens complex after she was unable to contact her daughter. The mother called police after there was no answer when she knocked on the door.

The body was found inside the apartment around 5:15 p.m. Friday. Lodi police and county authorities quickly cordoned off the area, neighbors said.