Man Accused of Stabbing Mother, Grandmother to Death in Jersey City Apartment

A 36-year-old man has been arrested on charges of murder and other crimes in the deaths of his mother and grandmother, who were found dead with multiple stab wounds in their New Jersey home late Monday, authorities say. 

Prosecutors say authorities got a call about someone screaming for help at the Randolph Avenue home in Jersey City shortly before 8:30 p.m. Police had to use a fire escape to get into the home, and found Rebecca Hodges, 56, and her mother, 76-year-old Dorothy Bradshaw, unresponsive and wounded. 

Both women were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. 

Hodges' son, Kevin, was apprehended not far from the apartment, prosecutors said. He was arrested on multiple counts of murder and weapons offenses. 

Prosecutors did not elaborate on a possible motive for the slayings, and said the medical examiner would perform a complete autopsy to confirm cause and manner of death for the two women. 

Kevin Hodges' sister told NBC 4 New York he had been struggling to make child support payments and snapped after losing his job. 

His former employer, Rent the Runway, confirmed Kevin Hodges was fired five days before the alleged murders. The company said he was a temp employee in its warehouse for about 11 weeks, and said in a statement it was saddened to hear about the deaths of his mother and grandmother. 

Information on an attorney for Kevin Hodges was not immediately available. His initial bail has been set at $4 million cash. 

Those who knew the slain women, who volunteered at a local church food bank, mourned their deaths Tuesday. 

One woman cried as she remembered the women, whom she called "community mothers" because of their care and involvement in the neighborhood.