Gerald Murphy was shot and killed by State Police after a 37-hour standoff while he kept three children hostage
TRENTON — The gun that Gerald Murphy used to hold three children hostage inside a bedroom of a Grand Street home and keep law enforcement at bay for nearly 37 hours last weekend was a fake, the New Jersey State Police said yesterday.
Murphy’s gun was a replica black semi-automatic handgun, Lt. Steve Jones said. State troopers from the TEAMS tactical unit seized it from the inside of the bedroom where Murphy kept the three children and their mother’s decaying body for more than two weeks, Jones said yesterday. The troopers rushed the bedroom early Sunday morning, fatally shooting Murphy in the head and freeing the children.
The fact that the gun was not real has no bearing on the troopers’ actions when they entered the room, as the children were still in danger, Jones said.
“He had a knife in his hand and he was literally holding two of the hostages,” Jones said.
Murphy had a large kitchen knife when the troopers entered and his hands were on two of the children. A “threatening action” against one of the children led one of the troopers to shoot him, State Police superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said Sunday.
Several other kitchen knives were seized from the house after the standoff was over, the State Police said. Though Murphy threatened he had explosives, none were found inside the home, city police said.
Law enforcement officers saw Murphy with the replica handgun through the window, police have said. There would have been no way for them to determine Murphy’s gun was fake during the course of the standoff, Jones said.
Murphy himself allegedly 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, who authorities said were abused and assaulted during the ordeal 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 also was 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 know about 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, and Javon came running out of the basement to safety.
City police talked with Murphy through the locked bedroom door before pulling back and handing negotiations over to the State Police. Authorities said the talks continued off and on into Sunday.
City detectives did their final walk-through of the Grand Street home Wednesday, Lt. Mark Kieffer said. They then released the house as a crime scene. Workers were outside the home boarding it up.
Inspectors from the city have been in touch with the owners, Trenton Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson said, and will determine if the house is safe enough to rent out to someone else.
“Our primary focus is, once we determine the crime scene is clear, how do we determine the conditions of the house, the biohazard,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said the city may seek advice from a professional crime scene cleaning company.
“But the most important thing is to put in place a support services network for the children,” he said. “That is the most important thing.”
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.
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