Murder-suicide suspected in deaths at Jamaican restaurant in New Jersey
KINGSTON, Jamaica— The father of a woman’s children is believed to have killed her and her sister in a Jamaican restaurant in New Jersey before killing himself, the police have theorised.
Acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V Ruotolo announced last night that the deaths of the two women in Hillside were believed to be connected to a death investigation in Union Township, NJ.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office reported that in the early morning hours of Monday, April 5, officers from Union Township Police Department noticed a vehicle parked in the rear lot of an Enterprise Rent-A-Car facility located on the 1700 block of Morris Avenue in Union.
After approaching the vehicle, officers discovered the body of 45-year-old Akanni A Martin of Hillside, NJ, inside with a gunshot wound to the head. A weapon was recovered near his body.
“Investigators do not believe foul play was involved,” the report said.
“In working to notify Martin’s next of kin, detectives from Union Township visited Martin’s home on the 1500 block of Summit Ave in Hillside. After further investigation, detectives determined two individuals close to Martin were missing.”
On Tuesday, April 6, Detectives visited K & K Jamaican Restaurant on the 1500 block of Summit Ave in Hillside, a restaurant co-owned by Martin. At this location, detectives discovered the bodies of 39-year-old Karen A Lemaitre, the mother of Martin’s children, and her sister, 41-year-old Wanita A Joffer.
An autopsy conducted by the Union County Medical Examiner’s Office on Lemaitre and Joffer ruled their manner of death to be homicide, the police said.
The matter remains under active investigation, led by the Union County Homicide Task Force with assistance from members of the Union Township Police Department, Hillside Police Department, and Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit.