Door Lock Could've Prevented NJ Family Murder-Suicide, Lawsuit Says

A new lawsuit filed by the family of a New Jersey woman and her two children killed apparently by her husband in a murder-suicide at home says that it all could have been prevented with the replacement of a door lock, NJ Advance Media reports.

Ruth Reyes Severino, Eugenio Severino, and their two children.
Photo Credit: *Ruth Esther Reyes Perez (Severino) Facebook*

Valerie Musson

11/23/2021 6:30 a.m.

Ruth Reyes Severino, 30, and her kids were found stabbed to death at the apartment she formerly shared with her estranged husband Eugenio Severino at Madole Place in Penns Grove, in February 2020, CBS says. Severino, 54, later hanged himself in an area park.

A month prior, Reyes got a restraining order against Severino banning him from the unit and submitted multiple requests to the apartment’s management to change the locks, NJ.com says citing court records. Those requests were apparently rejected, the outlet said.

The lawsuit accuses the complex’s management of wrongful death, breach of contract, negligence and negligent hiring and seeks punitive and compensatory damages as well as a security deposit recovery of just over $1,200, the report says.

The suit also states that management broke a Penns Grove ordinance when it failed to improve safety through exterior security cameras and lighting after Tayshon Hayward was shot and killed in the same complex the year before, according to the report.

Click here for the full story from NJ.com.

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