Suspect arrested after mother, young daughter found dead under mattress in NJ home
A New Jersey woman and her young daughter were found dead inside their home this week, and authorities have arrested a suspect out of state in their slayings.
The bodies of Kiesha Morrison and her daughter, Kelsey, were discovered under a mattress at their residence at West 7th Avenue and Pine Street in Roselle on Wednesday, WABC reported.
The grisly scene was discovered after the family was concerned that Kelsey — who would have turned 10 on Sunday — had not turned up at school, the outlet said.
A suspect, who was allegedly driving the adult victim’s car, was arrested out of state. The gruesome killings are believed to have stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Atasha Scott, who identified herself as the sister of the homeowner, told NBC that the victims were killed by Kelsey’s uncle, the brother of the homeowner.
According to Scott, the uncle was asked to leave the home and killed his niece and sister-in-law with an ax before driving away in Morrison’s BMW.
The pair’s bodies were found by the homeowner when he got home from work on Wednesday, she alleged.
Although Roselle schools were briefly asked to shelter in place on Wednesday afternoon, officials subsequently reassured residents that there was no threat to the public, WABC confirmed.
As of Thursday afternoon, the corner home remained an active crime scene.
“We were surprised to hear and nobody knew what was going on until they saw the police presence,” neighbor John Bambino told CBS News.
“I’ve never seen anything, [it’s a] very quiet and nice neighborhood. It’s kind of scary, something like that might be happening,” Alicia Mendez added.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office is expected to provide updates on the case later Thursday.
