BARNEGAT – A 34-year-old township resident remains behind bars after allegedly murdering his mother and father in a brutal stabbing. His actions then sent two Southern Ocean County communities into a panic, causing the lockdown of area schools while police searched for the suspect.
Both Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and the Barnegat Township Police Chief Keith Germain confirmed that Michael Mulgrew was as apprehended on the afternoon of November 2 and is charged with two counts of Murder, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, in connection with the stabbing deaths of 71-year-old Eugene Mulgrew and 69-year-old Cheryl Mulgrew.
In a joint press release, authorities said that on November 2 at approximately 11:00 a.m., officers from the Barnegat Township Police Department were called to a residence on Lincoln Avenue to assist medical personnel with performing a mobile outreach at the residence. As the Officers approached the residence, they observed a male walking away.
Officers noticed blood on the front door of the house and in other areas of the home. Inside a bedroom, they found the bodies of Eugene and Cheryl Mulgrew who had been stabbed in the torso. Police also found a knife near the bedroom.
Police said the male initially observed walking away from the residence was observed in the area of West Bay Boulevard and Gunning River Road by Barnegat Township Police Officers. That individual, later identified as Michael Mulgrew, was taken into custody without incident.
An alert went out during the investigation that Barnegat and Stafford Township schools were on lockdown as a precaution but that children were safe.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Barnegat Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that Michael Mulgrew was responsible for the murders of his mother and father.
Mulgrew was charged accordingly and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer and Chief Germain acknowledge the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Barnegat Township Police Department, Barnegat Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation leading to Michael Mulgrew’s swift apprehension.
