A woman, aged 36 was found murdered in her New Jersey apartment soon after the cops spotted her 5-year-old girl roaming outside her apartment courtyard without company in the middle of the night.
The deceased was identified as Michelle Burns, stabbed with a kitchen knife in the neck.
Dumont Police received a call on Tuesday around midnight. The caller was the deceased neighbor who called 911 to inform that they witnessed Burns’ daughter roaming alone outside the apartment on the Knickerbocker Road. The child’s aunt Nicole Boccellari also notified the Police that her elder sister (Michelle Burn) was not responding to her calls directed at the cell phone in her home. She also said that she heard yelling and argumentative noise coming from her sister’s apartment where she lived with her boyfriend in the evening. Therefore the police finally found the child and decided to conduct a welfare check which ultimately landed on the murder spot, where they found the dead mother of the child.
The Dumont Police Department then called and informed the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit about the gruesome crime.
Mike Musella, a Prosecutor at Bergen County in her official statement given to the media says “Officers entered Ms. Burns’ apartment to conduct a welfare check and found her deceased”. “She had been stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife” she continued.
The Murder accused was identified as none other than the lifeless Burn’s boyfriend Jeffrey Daniels, age 36, who is currently facing multiple charges, which include— child endangerment, weapon possession, and murder. It was reported that after murdering his girlfriend, he walked away with their two youngest kids, leaving behind the 5-year-old who was the woman’s daughter from a previous relationship she had.
Shortly, Daniel was caught 4 miles away, knocking at a residence in Closter, where police also found their toddlers who were 6 months and 18 months old. The toddlers underwent a health checkup and were found safe and unharmed.
One of Burns’ neighbors informed the police that the deceased is often found arguing with her boyfriend. However, the police did not identify any signs of struggle or fight before the victim died.
Even Boccellari confirmed that her sister’s relationship was on edge and the couple fought very frequently, but her sister was afraid of filing a restraining order because she thought by doing so Daniel may kill her.
Daniel was arrested and taken into custody. He is imprisoned at Bergen County Jail. This case will proceed with an initial hearing in the Central Judicial Processing Court, Hackensack, New Jersey.
