Father Killed Wife, 2 Sons In New City Familicide

NEW CITY, NY — Clarkstown police officers found all four members of a New City family dead in their home just after midnight Saturday.

"As we try to make sense of this unimaginable tragedy our hearts break for the family involved in this devastating murder-suicide in Clarkstown," Rockland County Executive Ed Day said in a statement. "On behalf of the people of Rockland, I send my prayers and deepest condolences to family, friends, and fellow officers of the victims, along with the entire Town of Clarkstown. Please know that my thoughts are with everyone impacted by this incredibly tragic incident."

It's the fourth familicide in the Hudson Valley in 12 years. The other three familicides between 2011 and 2019 were all in Westchester County.

On Oct. 18, 2011 in Lewisboro, Amy Perez and her children Molly and Gregory were murdered by her estranged husband, Sam Friedlander, before he committed suicide. Molly, 10, and Gregory, 8, were both students at Lewisboro Elementary School. He took a 12-gauge shotgun, shot each of his children in their beds and bludgeoned his wife to death with a rolling pin. Then he went down into the basement and shot himself, police said. Friends and neighbors knew that Amy Perez was seeking a divorce. SEE: Husband Kills Wife, 2 Children in Cross River Murder-Suicide.

Steven Dym of Pound Ridge, 56, shot his 50-year-old wife Loretta Dym and their daughter, Caroline Dym, 18, before taking his own life on Aug. 25, 2017. Caroline was a student at Sacred Heart Greenwich; their son was away at college. Neighbors said the $1.7 million house had been put up for sale. Family members blamed untreated depression. SEE: Husband Kills Wife, Daughter, Then Self.

On Dec. 5, 2019, Tom Liu stabbed his wife Dorothy Liu and their children Tennyson Liu, 7, and Adeline Liu, 4 to death before turning the knife on himself. Tennyson was a student at the Bedford Road School and Adeline was in pre-school. While no motive was discussed, police said Tom Liu was under a "considerable amount of stress." SEE: Police Identify Pleasantville Family Found Dead Thursday.

The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Hotline is 1 (800) 942-6906. The website is www.nyscadv.org

Find more resources at the National Domestic Violence Hotline website.

The Morgans were found after Clarkstown officers were asked to go to 10 Clydesdale Court to perform a welfare check by the Bronxville Police Department.

After they made entry they found four people dead, all identified as members of the Morgan family: Watson Morgan, 49, Ornela Morgan 43, and their two sons, ages 10 and 12.

All four were found to have gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene.

At this phase of the investigation it is believed that Watson killed his wife and two children, prior to killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A handgun was recovered at the scene, Clarkstown police said.

Watson Morgan was a sergeant with the Bronxville Police Department.

In a Saturday evening message from the mayor of Bronxville, the Bronxville village board of trustees, the Bronxville Police Department chief and the Bronxville village administrator, the village expressed a shared grief over the tragedy.

"It is with profoundly broken hearts at the senseless loss of innocent lives that we send this message to a grieving community," the officials said in a statement released Saturday. "Sergeant Morgan failed to appear for the evening shift last night and our Police Department contacted the Clarkstown Police Department in his hometown who made the discovery."

Sergeant Morgan joined the New York City Police Department in 2000 and the Bronxville Police Department in 2007. He was assigned to the detective division in 2014 and promoted to Sergeant in 2016, according to officials in Bronxville.

This investigation is of an isolated incident and the public is not in any danger, police said.

The Clarkstown Police Department - Detective Bureau will continue to investigate and anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call them directly at (845) 639-5840.