Dec. 31 (UPI) — A sergeant with the Bronxville Police Department in New York is believed to have killed his wife and two sons before shooting himself dead in a suspected murder-suicide, police said.
Watson Morgan, 49, had failed to appear for his evening shift on Friday so his colleagues called the Clarkstown Police Department where he lived in New City to perform a wellness check, the Bronxville Police Department said in a statement.
Bronxville and New City are suburbs of New York City in Westchester and Rockland counties, respectively, located about 25 miles from each other across the Hudson River.
The Clarkstown Police Department said in its own statement that its officers arrived at 10 Clydesdale Ct. in New City around 12:20 a.m. early Saturday morning. There, the officers found the bodies of Morgan, his 43-year-old wife Ornela Morgan, and their two sons — who were 10 and 12 years old.
“All four were found to have gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene,” the Clarkstown Police Department said. “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 found at the scene.
Morgan first became an officer with the NYPD in 2000, where he generated no civilian complaints of misconduct, records show. It was not immediately clear why the veteran officer left the NYPD for the Bronxville Police Department in 2007.
In Bronxville, Morgan rose through the ranks and was assigned to the detective division in 2014. He was promoted to sergeant in 2016.
“As we try to come to terms in a state of shock and sadness, we will continue to share with you what we can based on what the Clarkstown Police Department releases,” the Bronxville Police Department said.
According to News12 Westchester, Morgan was expected to retire in March.
