An investigation is underway after a mother and daughter were found shot to death inside their Burlington County, New Jersey, home early Wednesday morning.
According to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, police were called to the 100 block of Harrington Circle in the Hawthorne Park neighborhood of Willingboro just after 4 a.m. on Oct. 30, for a report of a burglary in progress.
Upon arrival, prosecutors said officers discovered the bodies of Catherine Nunez, 33, and her mother, Marisol Nunez, 54. The women were discovered in an upstairs bedroom and pronounced dead at the scene.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Investigation revealed that an entry was made through a first-floor window that had been broken by the intruder(s), who fled before police arrived, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said autopsies performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death for both victims to be gunshot wounds.
It is believed that this was not a random incident. However, prosecutors said law enforcement officials do not believe that other residents in the neighborhood are in jeopardy.
Local
Several neighbors told NBC10 that Catherine had a young son who was also in the home at the time of the killings.
“We found out that the baby was underneath the bed while his mom got killed and the grandmom was already gone," said Charlee Harris, a neighbor in the area.
“Everybody’s in shock to know that this happened," said Royston Evans, a neighbor in the area.
The prosecutor's office said the family recently moved here from New York.
“I think it was about two years ago and, you know, very quiet. She keep to herself. But she do talk and she say hi," Evans said.
The community where the women lived now devastated.
“I couldn’t believe it. I just dropped. I immediately dropped," Glenda Sprauve said who lives next door to the family.
Sprauve described the family as neighborly people who kept to themselves for the most part and would be the last people anyone would expect to have such a tragic ending.
“She was cool, a very nice person though. She was kind enough for me to break a tear or two and more and then some. I couldn’t even sleep last night," Sprauve said. "It hurts. It hurts. And I feel so bad for her son."
Neighbors are planning a prayer service outside the home on Harrington Circle Friday night.
Anyone with information that might be helpful to detectives is asked to call the Willingboro Township Police Department’s tip line at 609-877-6958 or email tips@co.burlington.nj.us.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
