A man has been arrested for allegedly shooting dead the mother and grandmother of his son while the child was present in the house. Junior Edwards, 37, faces charges including two counts of first-degree murder along with a number of other offences.
It is alleged that Edwards, from Pennsylvania, shot and killed Catherine Nunez, 33, and her mother, Marisol Nunez, 54, in the early hours of Wednesday, October 30 after breaking into their home in Willingboro Township, New Jersey.
Police responded to the property shortly after 4am following reports of a burglary in progress. Upon entering the house, they found the bodies of Catherine and Marisol Nunez in an upstairs bedroom. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene. The double homicide shocked the local community, reports The Mirror US.
Edwards also faces charges for first-degree home invasion burglary armed with a firearm, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to prosecutors in Burlington County, New Jersey.
“Barely sleeping. We can’t sleep cause we just don’t know,” said Charlee Harris, a neighbour and friend of the victims, before news of any arrest, as reported by Philadelphia Fox affiliate WTXF.
The next-door neighbour, Glenda Sprauve, expressed her shock, stating: “I’m still flabbergasted. I still cannot sleep. I cannot sleep.”
Edwards was initially arrested on unrelated charges before being charged with the murders. The police revealed that Edwards had gained entry into the house by breaking a ground-floor window.
A handgun, believed to be the murder weapon, was found outside the property. It was later discovered that Edwards and Catherine Nunez had an 8-year-old son together who was present during the shootings but remained unharmed. Autopsies confirmed that both victims died from multiple gunshot wounds.
