The Trenton Times published the following article on May 12, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Trenton hostage horror: Gunman held three kids in same room as mother’s decomposing body

By Alex Zdan/The Times 
on May 12, 2013 at 10:11 PM, updated May 12, 2013 at 10:47 PM

TRENTON – A mother’s dead body decayed before the eyes of three of her children who were held hostage inside a 10-foot-by-11-foot bedroom for nearly two weeks by the live-in boyfriend who killed her, authorities said today.

Down the hall throughout the entire ordeal, another body festered, likely the body of the woman’s teenage son. Maggots and a rotting smell soon took over the home.

Throughout this hell, the 18-year-old and 16-year-old girls in the room were abused and assaulted by their captor, 38-year-old registered sex offender Gerald T. Murphy, who kept them and later police at bay with a gun and threats, authorities said. Their 19-year-old brother was kept in the basement from the time of the murders until Friday afternoon, when police rescued him during their initial entry, officials said.

By dawn today, Murphy was dead, killed by state troopers who rushed the house and ended a 37-hour standoff between Murphy and police. The daughters and 4-year-old son of 44-year-old Carmelita Stevens were at a hospital to begin their treatment and recovery.

“Today, those children have been rescued from a deadly threat and horrible circumstances at the hands of an armed subject,” Col. Rick Fuentes, the New Jersey State Police superintendent, said during a morning news conference.

“Our mission over the last 37 hours was to save innocent lives,” Fuentes said. “The lives of three children were placed at great risk.”

Stevens’ 19-year-old son, who family members said is autistic, was able to escape the basement Friday during the opening minutes of the tense, multi-day standoff, as Trenton police forced their way into the home at the urging of a family member. The children had not been at school for 12 days, Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said.

“They made a forced entry to the home through a rear door and immediately smelled an odor consistent with a decomposing body,” Rivera said.

The city officers heard Murphy’s voice from upstairs and went to investigate. Murphy told them about the two bodies, and said he had a gun and explosives, according to Rivera.

They began to speak with Murphy through the door. During that time, Murphy told the officers he wanted them to kill him, said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman.

Police found the body in the rear bedroom, which has not been positively identified. Family members said it is Stevens’ 13-year-old son, whom cousin Sonja Kelly identified as Quavon Stevens.

Authorities, including the FBI’s negotiators and 60 state troopers, many of them from the tactical TEAMS unit, descended on Grand Street, locking down part of the city’s South Ward for more than a day and a half. Through torrential rain on Friday night and the cool of an early Sunday morning, the law enforcement officials tried to talk Murphy out.

“Our hostage negotiators maintained contact with Murphy throughout the event,” Fuentes said. “We passed food and bottled water through an upper window, watching and waiting for the best opportunity to end this standoff safely.”

Murphy threatened to harm the children, and even as troopers gained entry to portions of the home and were able to go in and out Saturday, they had to remain ready to act if there was a new, direct threat to a child’s safety. Negotiations continued off and on throughout the majority of the 37 hours, Fuentes said.

“It was a very complex standoff given the space that they were in and the number of hostages,” Fuentes said. “It was very, very complicated and they were up on the second floor.”

During that time, police could see Murphy at the window with a gun. The children may have been restrained, and likely spent the entire 37 hours, plus the majority of the previous 12 days, inside the room with Murphy, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini said.

Bocchini, who said talks between Murphy and law enforcement were “frequent and often,” had an opportunity to listen to several phone conversations. He said Murphy was sometimes angry and upset.

At 3:45 a.m. today, following indications of a rapidly deteriorating state of mind indicating that Murphy could cause further harm within the next day, the State Police breached the home.

Troopers entered the apartment, and when Murphy made a sudden move, one trooper fired what proved to be a fatal shot.

“Following our entry, a single shot was fired by our entry team to stop a threatening action against one of the children by Murphy,” Fuentes said. “Murphy was wounded, taken into custody and transported to the Fuld medical center by Trenton EMS. He has since died of his injuries.”

The State Police used flashbang grenades, city fire officials said. No law enforcement officers were injured, Fuentes said, and the children were taken to a hospital to be medically evaluated.

None of the children had serious or noticeable injuries, Trenton EMS Chief Grady Griffin said.

All the children were Stevens’. Murphy is not the father of the children. He is a registered sex offender out of Pennsylvania, authorities said. He had a warrant for failure to register and was listed as “absconded” on Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law website.

Murphy has previous convictions for aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy, Bocchini said. He also has arrests for robbery, weapons offenses and child endangerment. Yet city police said they had received no 911 calls for the house in the handful of months the family said Stevens and Murphy were living there.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.