NJ Man Faces Murder, Other Charges In Death Of Mother Of His Three Kids

KEARNY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A mother of three was found stabbed to death in Kearny, New Jersey and now the father of the children is facing murder and other charges.

It all started around 4:30 p.m. Monday when neighbors apparently heard arguing coming from a second-floor apartment at 133 Chestnut St.

Jahn Camac, who lives next door, said one of his neighbors heard the commotion.

"She said that she heard grunts from a man and a woman but she only thought they were arguing or something like that so she didn't call the police," Camac said.

Soon after that a teenager came rushing outside of the house in a panic.

"I know one of the girls came out screaming, 'My mom, my mom, why my mom,'" Camac said.

A woman who lives next door said she had just returned from the park when she realized that something was terribly wrong.

"I came here with my daughter in the stroller and I saw the middle child was screaming," she told CBS2's Raegan Medgie, "That's when I saw that something bad had happened. Her family members were with her there, holding her, and trying to calm her down."

Then around 6:45 p.m., police said a 911 call came in for a medical injury. When officers arrived, they found the lifeless body of 46-year-old Luisa Cristina Reyna-Tello with stab wounds inside the second-floor apartment.

Police arrested 36-year-old Jose Castro-Lavado, who also lived inside the apartment and is the father of the three children.

Neighbors said they saw police walking someone out of the house in handcuffs.

"The man, he wasn't really resisting, he just came out, they put him in the car and went away," Camac said. "It was surprising to all of us because nothing this big has happened. Just noise complaints is usually the most we'll get here."

Castro-Lavado is charged with murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in violation and unlawful possession of a weapon.