2 Dead After Standoff, Murder-Suicide In Bergen County

BERGEN COUNTY. – Two people were killed in a murder-suicide that followed an hours-long standoff in Bergen County on Saturday night, prosecutors said.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said the standoff ended at 8 p.m. at 601 6th St. in Carlstadt at 8 p.m.

A woman, 34-year-old Massiel S. Deoleo of Mahwah, found dead after police entered the home following a standoff with the suspect, prosecutors said.

The suspect, James T. Cox, 43, of Carlstadt, was also found dead of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office

The standoff began at approximately 11:48 a.m. when the Carlstadt Police Department received a phone call from a family member of Deoleo reporting her missing and stating that they were concerned for her well-being, prosecutors said.

The family member said the last person she was with was her ex-husband, Cox. At 11:55 a.m., another member of Deoleo’s family members contacted the Mahwah Police Department and asked them to respond to her residence, where officers located numerous items of Deoleo’s personal property outside her residence, prosecutors said.

Around that time, officers from the Carlstadt Police Department responded to 601 6 th Street, Carlstadt, to speak with Cox. Upon the officers’ arrival, Cox presented a semi-automatic weapon, pointed it to his head, and said he was not going to shoot officers but was going to take his own life, prosecutors said.

Officers exited the residence and contacted the Bergen County Regional SWAT team. Crisis negotiators from the SWAT team spent numerous hours attempting to resolve the situation peacefully.

In the evening hours, members of the SWAT team entered the residence and found Cox. They also found Deoleo’s body in the residence and determined that she had been fatally shot sometime
the previous night.

An investigation conducted by detectives from the Mahwah Police Department, the Carlstadt Police Department, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes
Unit revealed that Cox murdered Massiel S. Deoleo and then committed
suicide.

An investigation is being conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Carlstadt Police Department.

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.