FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Raymond Worrall

PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737

EMAIL: rworrall@hcpo.org

TWITTER: @HCPOProsecutor

WEB: hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org

DATE: Wednesday, October 18, 2017

WOMAN MURDERED IN JERSEY CITY APARTMENT; HUSBAND ARRESTED

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

On October 18, 2017, at approximately 2:15 a.m., Jersey City Police Officers were dispatched to 36 Duncan Avenue on a report that a woman had been stabbed. Upon arrival, Officers observed an unresponsive female victim with apparent stab wounds located in the hallway outside one of the apartments.

The victim, later identified as Milagros Rodriguez De Morel, age 38, of Jersey City, who lived at that address, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 2:30 a.m. The cause and manner of death are pending an investigation by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

Jose Morel, age 59, of Jersey City, who also lived at that address and was the husband of Rodriguez, was arrested by Jersey City Police Officers at the scene. He has been charged by the Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit with Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3, a first-degree crime; Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4, a third-degree crime; and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in violation of N.J.S.A. 39-5, a fourth-degree crime.

The Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit is actively investigating the case with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the Prosecutor’s official website at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/ . All information will be kept confidential.

The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).