Court Denies Appeal: Parents' Statements Can Be Used In Bound Brook Murder Trial

BOUND BROOK, NJ — The New Jersey Supreme Court dismissed appeals filed by Bound Brook parents Cindy and David Keogh on whether to allow the statements they gave to police in 2019 - following a shooting at their home - to be used against them in a trial, announced Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald, and Somerset

As a result of the Supreme Court order on Feb. 23, the statements given by Cindy and David Keogh will be admissible against them at their future criminal trial.

The Keoghs are parents to Ryan D. Keogh, who was found guilty on April 26, 2022, of first-degree murder and other offenses in the 2019 fatal shooting of Terrence C. Coulanges, 29, of Old Bridge, at his family's borough home on Farm Lane near the Bridgewater border.

Cindy Keogh and David Keogh were charged for providing false statements to authorities and hindering the homicide investigation regarding their son. Cindy Keogh and David Keogh have been charged and indicted by a Somerset County Grand Jury with fourth-degree hindering – providing false information, fourth-degree false swearing under oath and third-degree endangering an injured victim.

Previously, their recorded witness statements to police were ruled to be inadmissible by the trial court on the ground that neither Cindy nor David Keogh were provided Miranda warnings before their interviews, according to McDonald.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office appealed that ruling and on June 28, 2022, the Superior Court, Appellate Division, reversed the trial court’s order suppressing the statements. The Appellate Division ruled that Cindy and David Keogh were not entitled to Miranda warnings since when they gave their statements to investigators, they were neither in custody nor subjected to an interrogation and, as a result, Miranda’s requirements did not apply to them.

Cindy and David Keogh then filed motions for leave to appeal from that ruling to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

In January 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed transcripts of Cindy and David Keogh’s testimony from their son Ryan’s trial. In that testimony, both Cindy and David Keogh admitted under oath that the accounts they provided to investigators on the night of the shooting were false, said McDonald.

On Feb. 23, the New Jersey Supreme Court dismissed Cindy and David Keogh’s appeal and that their statements to investigators the night of the shooting will be admissible as evidence against them at trial.

Shooting

At 7:36 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2019, a 911 call reported shots fired and found a gunshot wound victim at a home on Farm Lane in Bound Brook, authorities said. Read More: Police ID Man Killed In Bound Brook Shooting Following Fight

Bound Brook Police found Coulanges outside the home with gunshot wounds to the right thigh and left chest, said authorities.

Coulanges was taken to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and CrimeScene Investigation Unit, along with detectives from the Bound Brook Police interviewed numerous neighbors who reported hearing what turned out to be gunshots at 5:45 p.m.

An investigation found that Ryan Keogh, along with his parents, left the home for a period of time after Coulanges was shot and before a 911 call was placed at 7:36 p.m. - 1 hour and 51 minutes since Keogh shot Coulanges.

A Medical Examiner found the cause of death of Coulanges to be gunshot wounds and homicide to be the manner of death.

Ryan Keogh was arrested on Feb. 14, 2019.

On April 26, 2022, Ryan D. Keogh was found guilty of first-degree murder; second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose; third-degree hindering apprehension or prosecution; third-degree endangering an injured victim; fourth-degree false swearing (4 of 5 counts); fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence; and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine, following a six-week jury trial in Somerset County.

He was acquitted of one count of fourth-degree false swearing. Keogh was remanded to the Somerset County Jail where he will be held until sentencing.

On August 26, 2022, Ryan D. Keogh was sentenced by the Honorable Peter J. Tober to the following:

• On Count One for first-degree murder, Judge Tober imposed a 50-year term of imprisonment with 85% of the term to be served without parole under the No Early Release Act.
• On Count Two for possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, Judge Tober merged that count into Count One for purposes of sentencing.
• On Count Three for hindering oneself in the third degree, Ryan D. Keogh was sentenced to 5 years in prison concurrent to the term imposed for murder and the other counts.
• On Count Four for third-degree endangering an injured victim, Ryan D. Keogh was given a 3-year term in prison to be served consecutive to the term imposed for murder. This term was consecutive under New Jersey Statutes.
• On Counts Five, Six, Eight, Nine for fourth-degree false swearing, Ryan D. Keogh was sentenced to 18 months in prison concurrent to the sentence imposed for murder and other counts. Ryan D. Keogh was acquitted on false swearing in Count Seven.
• On Count Ten for fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, Ryan D. Keogh was sentenced to 18 months in prison concurrent to the sentence imposed for murder and other counts.
• Lastly, on Count Eleven for fourth-degree possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine, Ryan D. Keogh received a concurrent 18-month sentence.

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