Man in 37-hour Trenton hostage standoff had fake handgun, was holding knife, two kids when he was fatally shot

'He had a knife in his hand and he was literally holding two of the hostages' when he was shot as police stormed the bedroom, authorities said today

TRENTON – The handgun that Gerald Murphy used to take three children hostage and hold law enforcement in a 37-hours standoff in Trenton last weekend was fake, the New Jersey State Police said today.

Murphy’s gun was a replica black semi-automatic handgun, Lt. Steve Jones said. Murphy, who killed his live-in girlfriend and her 13-year-old son, brandished the gun through a window during the standoff, police had said.

State troopers from the TEAMS tactical unit seized the replica from the inside the bedroom where Murphy kept the three children and their mother’s decomposing body for more than two weeks, Jones said today.

The troopers rushed the bedroom early Sunday and fatally shot Murphy in the head while freeing the children.

That the gun was later determined to be a replica does not changes anything about the tactical situation when the troopers entered the second floor bedroom of the home on the 200 block of Grand Street, Jones said.

“Because he had a knife in his hand and he was literally holding two of the hostages,” he said.

Murphy had a large kitchen knife when the troopers entered and shot him, and several other similar knives were seized from the house, the State Police said.

Law enforcement officers saw Murphy with the replica handgun through the window, Trenton police have said. There would have been no way for them to determine it was fake during the course of the standoff, Jones said.

Murphy made threats he had the gun and explosives and would harm the children, officials have said.

Jones did not have specifics on where Murphy obtained the replica weapon, but said it was not a BB gun. Having a replica handgun is not illegal, Jones said.

The 18-year-old and 16-year-old girls along with the 4-year-old boy rescued from the home were in the hospital recovering earlier this week, and were interviewed by detectives Monday evening.

Authorities believe Murphy, a registered sex offender with a criminal history in Philadelphia, beat and stabbed the children’s mother Carmenlita Stevens to death April 25.

Stevens’ 13-year-old son Quavon was also stabbed to death that same day, which is when the captivity in the bedroom began. Murphy also held Stevens’ 19-year-old son Javon, who family members say is autistic, in the basement with two dogs.

Police did not discover the situation until the afternoon of May 10, when a concerned family member asked officers to make a welfare check on the home. They forced entry and found Quavon’s body. Javon came running out of the basement to safety.

Trenton police talked with Murphy through the locked bedroom door before pulling back and handing negotiations over to the State Police, which authorities said continued off and on into Sunday.

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