US: New York City cop kills wife, sons before dying by suicide

A police sergeant in New York fatally shot his wife and their two sons before dying by suicide, a report by the news agency Associated Press on Sunday (Dec 31, 2023) said. As per the report, police said that 49-year-old Watson Morgan, a sergeant with the Bronxville Police Department, killed his wife, Ornela Morgan, 43, and their sons aged 10 and 12 before taking his own life.

The four bodies were discovered by police just after midnight on Friday at the family’s home in the New City suburb of New York City after Morgan failed to show up for his evening shift at work.

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Handgun recovered at crime scene

Upon investigation at the Morgan family home, the police discovered a handgun at the crime scene. All four victims had gunshot wounds. In a statement released last Friday, Bronxville Police Chief Christopher Satriale said the killings left the department with “profoundly broken hearts at the senseless loss of innocent lives.”

“Our hearts go out to Sergeant Morgan’s extended family,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are also with his Bronxville Police Department family,” Satriale added.

Watson started career in 2000, became sergeant 16 yrs later

Watson became a copwith the New York Police Department in 2000 before joining the force in Bronxville in 2007. In 2016, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. According to a report by the New York Post, a neighbour of the Morgans described them as the “textbook, perfect American family.”

“I never in a million years would expect [he] would do something like this," the neighbour said. “The kids were always out here playing outside, and their mom was just the sweetest person you ever met,” she added.

(With inputs from agencies)