🕯️ Maplewood couple found dead at home now confirmed as murder-suicide
💔 Husband poisoned himself after stabbing wife, cops say
📉 Tragic case adds to growing list of domestic murder-suicides in NJ this year
MAPLEWOOD — Over three months after a couple was found dead in their house, police have confirmed it to be a grim case of murder-suicide.
On July 11, Maplewood police carried out a wellness check at 422 South 4th Street.
Officers found the bodies of 73-year-old Kathleen Constantino and her husband, 71-year-old Michael Constantino.
Police confirm stabbing and suicide by antifreeze
An autopsy determined Kathleen Constantino had been stabbed to death.
Michael Constantino then died from drinking anti-freeze, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said on Wednesday.
No additional information would be released, he added.
Read More: Pittstown killings spark concerns about local police action
Maplewood couple deaths ruled murder suicide
Maplewood South 4th Street (Google Maps)
Loved ones mourn Kathleen Constantino’s gentle spirit
Kathleen Constantino was survived by her 35-year-old son, Joseph Constantino, as well as siblings, nieces and nephews, according to an online obituary.
“Kathy was a beloved mother, wife, sister, and friend. She was noted as the ‘sweet/ sister and aunt with caring heart, soft manner, and a quiet wit that would have everyone crying tears of laughter when you least expected,” the memoriam said. “She leaves a legacy of love and traditions.”
It’s the latest of several murder-suicides around the state this year.
Middlesex County arrest criminal charges East Brunswick
(Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)
Likely murder-suicide at Old Bridge senior complex
In September, a man and woman in Old Bridge were found dead in what police said was likely a murder-suicide.
Read More: Police Investigate stabbing deaths at Old Bridge senior housing
Officers responded to the Old Bridge Rotary Senior Housing on Ticetown Road and found 54-year-old Nancy Misura and 63-year-old Jamie A. Nowakowska, both dead at the scene with stab wounds. Police said they lived in the same apartment.
Mother’s Day murder-suicide in Sewell
A house explosion in Gloucester County on Mother’s Day this year was also ruled to be the scene of a murder-suicide.
Read More: Murder-suicide in Sewell claims life of Camden County mother
Police said 45-year-old Camden County mother, Michelle Whiting was shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend, who then took his own life with a gas fire in May that blasted apart his home in Sewell.
Her remains were recovered along with those of 59-year-old Daniel Steele, who lived on Tranquility Court.
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