Two from Paterson killed in murder-suicide at Knights Inn on Route 46 in South Hackensack

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw video: Murder-suicide at South Hackensack motel Murder suicide at South Hackensack motel

SOUTH HACKENSACK — A Paterson woman was shot dead by her boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself, after a fight in a South Hackensack motel room on Monday, authorities say.

At around 8:37 a.m., Paterson and South Hackensack police officers approached a room at the Knight’s Inn on Route 46, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. After announcing themselves, officers heard gunshots from inside and one Paterson officer shot a single round through the door’s glass window to force his way into the room, the statement said.

After breaking into Room 130, officers found the bodies of Jose Segura-Montero, 45, and Marcia Ferrera, 41. Segura-Montero had allegedly shot Ferrera and then himself, the prosecutor said. A revolver was found at the crime scene. The Paterson officer’s single shot did not hit Segura-Montero or Ferrera, the statement said.

Elizabeth Rebein, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor’s Office, declined to comment beyond Monday evening’s statement, including on whether the use of a firearm by the officer was allowed in this instance, whether there was a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the people involved before they were found, whether police checked with hotel management to gain access to the room before forcefully entering, and whether the officers evacuated the motel.

At Segura-Montero’s house in Paterson, a man who identified himself as Eduard Segura, his brother, said fights were always part of Segura-Montero and Ferrera’s relationship. The disputes appeared to come to a head when Ferrera called Eduard Segura about an hour before the murder-suicide and his brother also got on the phone.

“I talked to him at like 7:44 a.m., the last time I spoke to him,” Segura said. “Marcia told me, ‘Eduard, come get me. Because he’s really agitated.’ I told him ‘Jose, don’t do something stupid that you’re going to regret tomorrow.’ ”

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The deaths stemmed from a so-called “domestic kidnapping” early Monday morning in Paterson, the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed. At about 5:06 a.m., Segura-Montero kidnapped Ferrera from her 16th Avenue home, after a fight between the two.

Segura-Montero was in relationships with both Ferrera and Segura-Montero’s wife, Eduard Segura said.

Segura-Montero had recently moved back in with his wife, after living with Ferrera for three to four months, Segura said. Ugly fights had been a part of Segura-Montero and Ferrera’s relationship since they met, Segura said. Segura-Montero would constantly threaten to kill his wife and Ferrera.

“He would tell his wife, ‘One of these days I’m going to kill you,’,” Segura said. “But he threatened to kill both of them all the time.”

At about noon on Godwin Avenue, where Segura-Montero lived, family and friends wailed and cried after officers from the Paterson police and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office notified them of his death. Later in the afternoon, a minivan pulled up in front of the two-family home. An unidentified woman got out of the car and immediately collapsed on the street and was carried into the house by a relative.

Although there was no crime scene tape, two Paterson police officers cordoned off the area, keeping curious neighbors at bay. On the steps of the house were Segura-Montero’s three daughters, who held on to family relatives as they broke down in tears.

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Back at the Knights Inn, police were still investigating more than six hours after the alleged murder-suicide. A Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Mobile Crimes Unit van was stationed in the lot.

More than half a dozen police cars, including a marked South Hackensack police cruiser, unmarked cars and mobile command units, were in the motel parking lot Monday afternoon in the scorching heat.

Guests at the motel said they did not recall hearing the gunshots but did not want to comment.

Motel cleaning staff could be seen going in and out the rooms where police were no longer investigating. One worker used a shopping cart to carry loads of garbage from the rooms in a nearby garbage bin. Guests also shuffled in and out of the motel.

Route 46 is riddled with fast-food restaurants, used car dealerships and its fair share of motels. Congress Inn, Horizon Inn and Stagecoach Motel are also on Route 46 near the Knights Inn, where the alleged murder-suicide occurred.

The commercial corridor, however, is near a much quieter residential neighborhood just a block away.

At around 3:20 p.m., a man in a cowboy hat and gloves drove a pickup truck from behind the motel building and onto a flatbed. It was unclear whether the truck was part of the investigation. Soon after a tow truck left the motel lot with the pickup truck, a Bergen County sheriff’s vehicle left the scene, too.

Just before 4 p.m., authorities cleared police tape that cordoned off the motel lot and left the scene.

The motel appeared quiet, with few guests by 5 p.m. Earlier in the day, several cars were parked in the motel lot. Those cars were since cleared.

Joe Malinconico of Paterson Press and Record Staff Writers Kaitlyn Kanzler, Keldy Ortiz and Joshua Jongsma contributed to this article.

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