'Someone Is Dying:' 911 Callers Tried To Save Maplewood Au Pair

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - They said she was bleeding, they said she was dying and may already be dead. Some even tried to comfort her as they awaited help. But all the 911 calls from Maplewood residents reveal a community desperate to save Karen Bermudez-Rodriguez as she lay dying in the street Saturday morning.

"You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming, they'll take care of you," one caller said to Bermudez-Rodriguez as the 911 operator instructed him to keep talking to her.

Bermudez-Rodriguez was one of the victims in a brutal double murder this weekend in Maplewood. Police provided Patch with recordings of the 911 calls that came in early on Saturday morning, shortly after 6 a.m., when Bermudez-Rodriguez's attack was witnessed by residents (see below).

The 911 center received multiple calls describing the attack and the attacker with varying degrees of clarity and connection.

"Please come immediately, someone is dying," a female caller told the operator. "She's on the street, I ran outside. Somebody attacked her I think she is bleeding to death. She may already be dead."

Callers described the attacker and what he was wearing and the general direction of where he ran off to.

"They're not gonna fine him," one caller remarked. "Its probably a domestic."

Several people stayed with Bermudez-Rodriguez until the police arrived, trying to communicate with her about her attacker and reassuring her help was on the way.

"Its coming honey," one caller said.

When the officers did arrive one man described some of Bermudez-Rodriguez's injuries.

"She's got a cut on her neck,' he said. "Its very bad."

Bermudez-Rodriguez was transported to Beth Israel Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 7:17 a.m., according to authorities.

A portion of the calls are contained below. Some listeners may find the content distressing:

Joseph Porter, 27, of Elizabeth was charged in the killing of ex-girlfriend Bermudez-Rodriguez and her employer, David Kimowitz. Kimowitz was stabbed to death in his home Saturday morning but Bermudez-Rodriguez, his au pair, escaped into the street before Porter caught up with her, stabbed her and left her to die, police said.

A memorial service for Bermudez-Rodriguez will be held at Morrow Church on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Valeria Rodríguez Félix createda Facebook Fundraiser on behalf of the Au Pair Community of Maplewood-South Orange seeking donations to offset the expenses of bringing Bermudez-Rodriguez home to Colombia to be laid to rest.

"Karen will be remembered as a very loving person with a big heart. She was always very humble and kind, and always willing to help those in need. She enjoyed being an au pair and was grateful to have such a lovely host family," Félix said. "She especially cherished her time with her host family's daughters and loved them very much."

Félix said on the fundraiser page that Bermudez-Rodriguez had pursued the au pair program to advance her English skills and to travel, which she loved.

Services for David Kimowitz were scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Bernheim Apter Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, 68 Old Short Hills Road in Livingston.

For those wishing to support the Kimowitz Family, The David Kimowitz Memorial Fund has been established:

• Checks can be mailed to 10 Prospect Road in Livingston, NJ 07039
• The Venmo is @thedavidkimowitzmemorialfund
• Zelle is thedavidkimowitzmemorialfund@gmail.com

People can also use thedavidkimowitzmemorialfund@gmail.com to send stories, pictures and memories of David to be shared with his family.

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