'Perfect America family': Neighbors of Ornela and Watson Morgan left shocked by Bronxville tragedy
ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK: A family of four was found dead in a Rockland County home early Saturday, December 30, in what police believe to be a triple murder-suicide.
The victims were later identified as 49-year-old Watson Morgan, his 43-year-old wife Ornela Morgan, and their two sons, ages 10 and 12.
According to the police, Morgan, a former NYPD cop and current sergeant with the Bronxville Police police, killed his wife and two children "prior to killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound".
As the deaths sent shockwaves through the calm suburban neighborhood, a neighbor characterized them as the "textbook, perfect American family", as per NY Post
'Their mom was just the sweetest person you ever met'
The neighbor said of Watson Morgan, "I never in a million years would expect [he] would do something like this."
"The kids were always out here playing outside, and their mom was just the sweetest person you ever met,” said the woman, who shares a cul-de-sac with the Morgans in New City, an affluent hamlet in the town of Clarkstown, about 18 miles north of New York City.
“We’re in shock. Everyone in this community is shocked,” added the neighbor, who asked not to be named. "I would describe them as the textbook, perfect American family.”
However, that perfect family met a gruesome end on Saturday, December 30 which is when cops found their four corpses in the Clydesdale Court home about 20 minutes after midnight.
Police found a handgun at crime scene
Officers went to the home to do a welfare check after Morgan never punched in Friday, December 29 night as he was supposed to, Clarkstown Police detective Norm Peters told The Post.
Police later said they found a handgun at the scene.
Investigators suspect Morgan shot the family to death before “killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the department said in a statement
Peters added that the motivation for the shooting is still being looked into and that the pair had no history of domestic disputes.
According to Bronxville Police Chief Christopher Satriale, Morgan worked for the NYPD for seven years before leaving in 2007 to join the police department in Bronxville.
According to accounts, his wife was a technology teacher at the One World Middle School in the Bronx.
"This is an ongoing investigation, so while we attempt to process in a state of shock and sadness, we will keep sharing with you what we can depending on what the Clarkstown Police Department reveals," Satriale said in a statement.
