NJ Mom, Kids Killed After Landlord Didn't Change Locks: Lawsuit

SALEM COUNTY, NJ — The family of a mother and two children who were killed in an apparent murder-suicide in South Jersey earlier this year have reportedly filed a lawsuit against the operators of an apartment complex because they didn’t change the locks as asked.

Ruth Reyes Severino and her two children, Eurianny Severino and Eurl Severino, were stabbed to death at a home in Penns Grove in February, according to the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office.

Eugenio Severino, Ruth’s 54-year-old husband, had been accused of murdering them. He died after he hanged himself in a wooded area near the apartment complex, authorities said.

Police, neighbors and family previously said that Severino had threatened to kill his wife, and she subsequently kicked him out of their apartment. She later went to court and obtained a restraining order. Read more here: Victims ID'd, Horrific Details After Woman, 2 Children Found Dead

Eugenio Severino still had keys to the apartment, so Ruth “begged her landlord operators to change the locks,” the family said in the lawsuit, according to NBC 10. The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, negligence, breach of contract and negligent hiring.

Days after her request was denied, Severino used his keys to get into the apartment and killed his wife and children, the lawsuit alleges, according to nj.com. The suit also alleges the apartment complex didn’t follow a local ordinance requiring apartment complexes to have outdoor security cameras and lighting.

Eugenio Severino’s body was discovered by a passerby off Sportsman Road in Carneys Point on Feb. 5, according to the Salem County Prosecutor's Office. That person called 911.

Police who responded to the scene checked the victim's address and made a well-being check at his nearby home, prosecutors said. Police then found the woman and two small children dead in the home.

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