Freehold Twp Mother Called Police To Home 6 Weeks Before Murder

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — Six weeks before a Freehold Township woman was killed in her home, police answered a call to the house for a mental health issue, according to Freehold Township police records.

Denise Bartone called Freehold Township police on Dec. 23 and appears to have reported her husband was having some kind of emotional crisis, according to the public information log of calls for that day, obtained Monday by Patch.

Denise Bartone, 48, was killed in her Koster Drive home a week ago. Her husband, Kenneth, was found dead in the Raritan River the same day, after a family car was found on the Thomas Edison Memorial Bridge that carries Route 9 over the river.

The Monmouth County prosecutor's office said Denise Bartone's death was ruled a homicide and said Kenneth Bartone, 53, died of an apparent suicide, but prosecutors have not yet said Kenneth killed his wife. The circumstances remain under investigation. No details on how Denise Bartone was killed have been released. Read more: Freehold Twp Murder-Suicide: What We've Learned

The call to Freehold Township police happened about 4 p.m. on Dec. 23. The public records log labels the call to the Bartones' home as a "mental health call." A detailed but partially redacted report of the dispatcher's notes on the call indicated Denise called police with her husband's knowledge.

Some specifics about what she told the dispatcher are redacted, but there are notes indicating Kenneth Bartone "should not be violent with PD" and "he is sitting on the couch now," a few minutes after Denise Bartone called police. There also were notes about her response to questions asking whether there were weapons in the house, which is a standard question police ask in such situations.

The call detail indicates two officers arrived at the home at 4:08 p.m. and were at the home for more than 30 minutes. At 4:22 p.m. one of the officers left the home and went to CentraState Medical Center, and arrived there at 4:31 p.m. Part of the notation is redacted. The second officer left the home at 4:48 p.m.

Freehold Township police said "Redactions have been made to the responsive record to the extent those portions disclose information relating to medical, psychiatric or psychological history, diagnosis, treatment or evaluation ... and information that would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy."

The revelation about the phone call comes just two days after Denise Bartone was laid to rest. Hundreds of mourners to gathered to remember her Saturday at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine in Freehold, NJ.com reported. Read more: Freehold Twp Mom 'Always Had A Bright Smile To Share'

Denise Bartone was heavily involved in the Freehold Township schools community, serving on the Freehold Township Education Foundation, including as the chair of its board of trustees. She also volunteered with her church, the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine in Freehold. She had just restarted her career last summer, working as a marketing specialist with the Rutgers Food Innovation Center in Piscataway.

Kenneth Bartone was a scientist with Allied Signal, which later merged with Honeywell.

The couple had three teenage daughters, but the detailed police log on the December call indicates they were not at home at the time of that incident. The information about the call first was reported by the Asbury Park Press.

The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is urged to call Detective Andrea Tozzi of the prosecutor's office at 1-800-733-7443 or Freehold Township Police Detective James Burdge at 732-462-7908.

The family has asked for donations in Denise's name to: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, in lieu of flowers.

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