Details Emerge About Last Hours Of Mother Of 2 Toddlers Who Was Killed In Jersey City

Editor's note: Those who need help with domestic violence can view their county's resources here, call the New Jersey hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233), or contact the national domestic violence hotline. In an emergency call 911.

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — After Gregory Mallard, 35, was charged last month with the death of mother of two Norelis Mendoza, 33 — who was reported missing from Jersey City on Mother's Day — details have emerged about Mendoza's final hours.

Mendoza, who lives in Lindenwold, in Camden County, was visiting her mother's house in Jersey City last month when she failed to return home on Saturday night, May 13. She was the mom of two children ages 1 and 3.

A little over a week later, Mallard, who had served time in prison, was charged with murder and weapons charges.

A GoFundMe for Mendoza says "Fly high, beautiful angel," has raised $42,000 for her children.

READ MORE: GoFundMe Launched For Mom Found Dead Near Jersey City Border

READ MORE: 4 Women Killed In Domestic Violence Incidents In Hudson County This Year

In the days since Mallard's arrest, new details have emerged.

According to a story on NJ.com, Mendoza's family said that Mallard was her ex-boyfriend, and "at some point" she had filed for a restraining order for him. But, the story said, she always gave people the benefit of the doubt.

The news story says that Mallard and Mendoza had breakfast in the wee hours of Mother's Day morning at McDonald's on Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City.

At some point afterward, Mallard was driving with her near Burma Road and Thomas McGovern Avenue, near Liberty State Park, according to a criminal complaint cited in NJ.com. Then, around 4:20 a.m., Mallard hit Mendoza with the truck. When she got up and tried to run, he made a U-turn and hit her again.

Mendoza was found Wednesday, after days of her relatives pleading for information, in a wooded area along the Jersey City/Bayonne border.

Mallard has been charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, failing to dispose of human remains in a manner prescribed by law, desecration of human remains, hindering, and tampering with physical evidence.

"This matter is being investigated as an act of domestic violence," the prosecutor's office noted.

A GoFundMe for Mendoza says,"She was not just a picture of a missing person but she was a real person. A mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. On Tuesday, May 16th they were able to get a break in her case to find camera footage of where she was during the time of telling her mother bye for the last time and also the person she was with during her last hours and minutes."

Mendoza's death was the fifth apparent domestic violence killing of a woman in Hudson County in as many months. The other victims are:

• Luz Hernandez, a Jersey City teacher and mom of three
• Temara King, a Jersey City teacher allegedly killed in front of her teenage daughter
• Daniela Garcia-Murillo, West New York, stabbed to death
• Rosa Massoni, of Harrison; her adult son was charged.

NJ.com reported that Mallard had been released from prison in June 2020, after serving 11 years on an aggravated manslaughter charge, and is "a reputed member of the 52 Hoover Street Crips gang."

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County
Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: https://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential. The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.