Prosecutor: Man Charged In Stabbing Death of Mother, Grandfather
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Springfield man has been arrested and charged with stabbing his mother and grandfather to death in the home they shared, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park and Springfield Police Chief John Cook announced Tuesday.
James Brown, 27, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three related weapons offenses in connection with the deaths of 51-year-old Roth Brown and 79-year-old Thomas Brown, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
Officers conducting a welfare check discovered the bodies of Roth and her father, Thomas, inside their home at 74 Meckes St. on Monday afternoon, prosecutors and police said Tuesday.
Thomas Brown, a retired funeral director, owned the home. He lived there with his daughter and her son.
"I'm very nervous right now -- I'm tired. I haven't gotten any sleep," neighbor Angela Bunch said. "I never saw anything publicly. I never saw anything out of the ordinary."
Police were called to check on Roth Brown after she failed to show up at work Monday, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
Neighbor Charles Hackley has known Roth for more than 20 years.
"She graduated from Howard University, she came back home and she had her son and was trying to raise her son," he said. "And like I say right now, it's still not sinking in, so to me it's like I'm watching it, but it's surreal. I'm not believing it yet."
Roth would've been 52 Tuesday.
Neighbors told Doris the son's relationship with the family was unstable at times.
"There was aggression and all that involved in the house," said Steliyn Salas. "But you wouldn't think he would do that."
Police had been going door-to-door, asking neighbors if the saw anything unusual near the house Saturday night, CBS2's Doris reported.
"It was shocking," said neighbor Jada Bunch. "I was washing dishes, I looked up and out of nowhere, there were cops all up and down my street. It was so sudden."
