Family Of 3 Found Dead Inside Edgewater High-Rise On Christmas

Three people were found dead inside a high-rise apartment building Friday night, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

Molinelli said in a report by The Record, that the bodies of Michael Stasko, 53, his wife, Melissa, 49, and daughter, Nellie, 8, were found in the Windsor at Mariners apartment building shortly after 7 p.m. after a relative in Missouri called the Edgewater police, concerned that they did not arrive and weren’t answering their cellphones.

According to the report, Stasko was found with a gunshot wound under his chin, and his wife and daughter had been shot in the backs of their heads, Molinelli said. The wife and daughter were dressed in their pajamas.

The shootings could have occurred while the two were sleeping and as long ago as Tuesday, Nellie’s eighth birthday, Molinelli said in the report. Authorities found a .45-caliber handgun with hollow-point bullets at the scene.

Authorities have not found any notes in the apartment and there was no indication of forced entry or that other people were involved, Molinelli said, who described the family’s room as “lovely” and “well kept.”

Authorities said in the report Melissa Stasko’s brother told police that the family was scheduled to arrive at 1 p.m. in Lees Summit, Mo., to celebrate Christmas.