Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Jilted Lover Allegedly Stalks Nanny's Street Before Stabbing Her And Her Employer To Death
Joseph Porter was spotted lurking outside David Kimowitz's home a day before the murders, claims a neighbor.
The jilted lover of an au pair is accused of stabbing both her and her employer to death in New Jersey over the weekend.
Police in Maplewood, about 12 miles west of New York, said they received a 911 call at approximately 6 a.m. on Saturday reporting someone being attacked in the street. They arrived to find 26-year-old Karen Bermudez-Rodriguez lying in the street with her hands bound with tape. She died later at a hospital.
Security video from the vicinity showed a man chasing Bermudez-Rodriguez down the street, police said in a criminal complaint.
David Kimowitz, 40, was found dead inside his home, not far from where Bermudez-Rodriquez was found dead, also suffering from stab wounds, according to the complaint.
Joseph Porter, 27, of Elizabeth faces murder and weapons charges stemming from the attack, according to the New York Daily News.
He was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport early Saturday as he attempted to fly to Cancun, according to the criminal complaint.
Police said text messages show that Bermudez-Rodriguez wanted to end her relationship with Porter and wanted him to return her house keys. Police believe Porter let himself in to Kimowitz’s house with the keys.
Kimowitz owned The Stand Restaurant and Comedy Club in New York’s Union Square. Comedian Rich Vos posted that Kimowitz was a “great guy and friend.” Aaron Berg wrote Kimowitz was “essential to New York.” Paul Virzi said it was “just sickening.”
Kimowitz’s wife and children were not home at the time of the attack.
A day before the deadly attack, Kimowitz’s neighbor Griffin Henry, 18, claimed he spotted Porter Friday morning standing near Kimowitz’s home. Henry said that Porter was intermittently looking at his phone and at Kimowitz’s house, reports the Daily News.
“It was suspicious,” Henry said.
Porter was being held in Essex County Jail pending a court appearance. It was not immediately known if he had retained an attorney.
A vigil was held Sunday night for both victims, according to NJ.com.
“We’re sad for both families — the family who lives here and has been in the community for the last few years and of course the au pair who was working for them," Maplewood Mayor Victor De Luca told the outlet. "It’s a very tragic domestic incident that had just a horrible, horrible result.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
