A man has been charged in the deaths of his au pair girlfriend and her employer at his suburban home in northern New Jersey.
The Essex County prosecutor's office said 27-year-old Joseph Porter of Elizabeth is charged with two counts of murder, weapons possession charges, and criminal restraint.
Maplewood police responding to a report of a woman being assaulted shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday found an injured woman lying in the street. She was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Medical Ceneter and prosecutors identified her as 26-year-old Karen Bermudez-Rodriguez.
As officers canvassed the scene, the body of 40-year-old David Kimowitz was found in his home nearby. Police said the female victim was employed as an au pair for the Kimowitz family, and Porter had been dating her.
Kimowitz's wife and children were not home.
Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that both Bermudez-Rodriguez and Kimowitz were stabbed to death.
Prosecutors said county sheriffs, Port Authority police, and U.S. Homeland Security investigators assisted in the investigation.
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Kimowitz owned The Stand Restaurant and Comedy Club in New York's Union Square.
Comedian Rich Vos posted that Kimowitz was a "great guy and friend." Aaron Berg wrote Kimowitz was "essential to New York." Paul Virzi said it was "just sickening."
Porter was taken to Essex County Correctional Facility pending an appearance in Superior Court. It's unclear whether he has an attorney; a listed number for him could not be found Sunday.
