Authorities positively identified one of the bodies found decomposing at the site of the standoff in Trenton as Quavon Foster, 13, who was fatally stabbed multiple times in the chest.
TRENTON -- Authorities yesterday positively identified a body found decomposing in a back bedroom of a home on Grand Street, the scene of a 37-hour standoff with police last weekend, as the 13-year-old son of a woman who was also killed inside the house.
Quavon Foster, 13, was fatally stabbed multiple times in the chest by Gerald Murphy shortly after Murphy had stabbed and beaten to death Quavon’s mother, 44-year-old Carmenlita Stevens.
According to city police Murphy left the bodies lying where they fell for up to two weeks. Steven’s body was inside the 10-foot by 11-foot room where Murphy kept her two teenage daughters and 4-year-old son prisoner before the State Police rescued them and killed Murphy early Sunday.
Quavon’s 18-year-old and 16-year-old sisters in addition to his younger brother were interviewed by detectives Monday evening, more than a day after the children’s rescue from a nearly two week ordeal.
None of the children were Murphy’s. Access to the children has been restricted because of the trauma they have been through.
“Any time there is a trauma, it’s horrible,” said Jennifer Mellor, a licensed clinical social worker who is program director for Family Growth at Catholic Charities. “It’s hard to imagine what some people are capable of.”
Murphy, a registered sex offender, had done time in prison for sexual assault, aggravated assault, conspiracy and theft.
Detective Brian Egan from Trenton police and Detective Matt Norton from the prosecutor’s office conducted the interviews together Monday evening at the hospital where the children are being treated, Trenton Lt. Mark Kieffer said.
Kieffer would not reveal what the children said, or how they described the chain of events that led to the murder of their mother and brother, but said the interviews were “productive.” The conversations were monitored by members of the state Division of Children and Families.
A more limited interview was conducted with Stevens’ autistic son during the standoff.
The 19-year-old briefly spoke to police immediately after he escaped from the home on Friday after being kept in the basement by Murphy. That first conversation was geared toward getting as much information as possible to help facilitate negotiations with Murphy and tactical decisions.
Officials said the children kept in the bedroom did not suffer any serious physical injuries, but are believed to have been abused and assaulted during their captivity.
Wounds may eventually heal but the trauma from the two weeks of captivity could remain, Mellor said
“When you have an emotional trauma, it exists in the mind in the form of memories,” she added.
Victims can emotionally cut themselves off, and psychologists have to work through it to help victims process the mental images and move on. A young child whose world view is not totally formed can form a harsh opinion of life going forward.
“‘Am I safe?’” Mellor said young victims can ask. “‘Can I trust the world?’ You see kids at 2 or 3 start to get further away from mom and dad — look backwards to see if it’s okay.”
Stevens’ extended family has said they want to raise the four surviving children as their own.
Murphy was a Philadelphia resident before he moved in with Stevens just a few months ago.
Trenton Police do not have any reports of accusations of sexual abuse by Murphy, Kieffer said.
Yesterday’s autopsy of Quavon’s body followed one on his mother Monday. Quavon was stabbed to death, suffering multiple wounds to the chest, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said. The county medical examiner ruled the date of Quavon’s death to be approximately April 25 — the same day as his mother is believed to have been killed, the prosecutor’s office said.
Murphy killed Stevens first, then Quavon, Trenton police said yesterday. The police investigation is continuing, and the physical evidence from the autopsies was being compared with the results of the interviews of the teenage girls and 4-year-old boy.
Mellor said recovery from any trauma is difficult.
“It takes time, and it takes patience from the individuals around them, but it is possible,” she said.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.
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