Love Triangle Possible Motive in Mom, Son Murders: Sources

A knife was found not too far from the scene of the stabbings.

A love triangle is being investigated as a possible motive in the stabbing deaths of Diana Patterson and her son Ryan, sources tell NBC10. And a knife was discovered about half a mile away from the scene of the crime.

Diana Patterson, 64, and Ryan, 29, were found dead in their Hammonton, Atlantic County, N.J. home early in the morning on November 3, 2011.

"Everybody's in shock," said Diana's sister Bonnie Kelsey the day after the murders. "She doesn't have any money or anything to be robbed or killed for."

Patterson and her son lived on S. Madison Avenue. They'd been stabbed repeatedly, according to investigators. The knife was found on Sunday in a yard on 12th Street and will be tested by forensics experts. Sources tell NBC10's Ted Greenberg that a love triangle is being investigated as a possible motive and that Ryan Patterson, a popular motor-cross racer in South Jersey, called 911 as the crime was unfolding.

On Monday, a search dog from the New Jersey Department of Corrections was brought out to the same location where the knife was found to search nearby for potential clues.  Authorities also tell NBC10 that investigators executed several search warrants in Gloucester County over the weekend and that storage lockers were among the places searched.

NBC10's Ted Greenberg says despite what he's learning from sources, prosecutors will not comment on a possible motive.

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