- Investigators found she died from blunt force trauma, and launched an urgent search for her stepson
A Sotheby’s realtor was beaten to death by her 30 year-old stepson with a baseball bat at her home in a luxury gated community, police say.
Irma Daniels, 48, was bludgeoned to death at her $864,000 home in Cresskill, New Jersey on Wednesday – with cops claiming her husband’s son John Daniels Jr, 30, was behind the attack.
Investigators found she died from blunt force trauma, and launched an urgent search for her stepson who officials say fled the scene after the vicious attack.
After he was snared Thursday, Daniels’ initial court appearance Friday saw him reportedly break down and stutter as spoke before a judge, who ordered him to be held without bail.
He faces a slew of criminal charges including first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and lying to investigators.
Daniels’ LinkedIn profile has him listed as an investment banker, and his social media is littered with shirtless selfies and lavish holidays.
According to police, he was unemployed and single at the time of his stepmother’s slaying, and he appears to have not held a job for over three years since leaving his father’s law firm.
Bergen County prosecutor Mark Musella said police were called to the scene in the gated Stonegate Trail community in Cresskill on Wednesday evening.
After arriving at their home, they discovered Daniels’ body, where it was determined she died ‘of apparent blunt force trauma.’
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Police later revealed that she had been beaten to death with a bat, as they said the suspect’s own father John Daniels Sr, a lawyer, identified his son as the alleged killer.
Daniels Sr is a managing partner with esteemed law firm Daniels & Daniels, a near-century old practice based in Guttenberg, New Jersey.
In a separate statement, cops identified the victim as Irma Daniels, a Russian immigrant who moved to the United States and married Daniels Sr in 2011.
She had recently been on a trip back to her home country, and just hours before her death shared a poignant Facebook post about how important the visit had been for her.
‘Going back to my roots,’ she said, coupled with footage of her scenic homeland.
‘My beautiful motherland with breathtaking Caucasian Mountains, ancient culture, heartbreaking history, and graceful and noble people. Proud of being Circassian.’
