Surrounded By Police, Runaway Dad Kills Himself

"OLD BRIDGE, NJ — A New Jersey man sought in the slaying of his ex-wife fled with their two young daughters and hid out at a quaint upstate New York motel while police in the two states launched a desperate search, which ended Friday when he was found dead inside his room from an apparent suicide.

"Anthony Trapp’s daughters were unharmed when they were coaxed out of the open door of their father’s room around 7:30 a.m. Friday by some of the dozens of New York state troopers who had surrounded the five-room motel 45 miles north of New York City.

"Police believe Trapp had already killed himself when the older girl, who’s 5, opened the door, state police Maj. Ed Raso said.

"`We were able to motion to her, and she came out,` followed moments later by her 20-month-old sibling, he said.

"Members of the state police special operations team scooped them up, wrapped them in blankets and carried them to safety before they were placed in the temporary custody of relatives.

"Police then spent more than an hour trying to communicate with Trapp by phone and bullhorn. At 8:40, troopers entered the room and found Trapp, 39, dead on a bed, Capt. Joseph Tripodo said.

"Authorities said Trapp apparently killed himself; they didn’t release details but said he didn’t shoot himself. His body was removed from the motel Friday afternoon.

"The discovery of Trapp’s body ended a 12-hour ordeal that began when police in Old Bridge, N.J., alerted by relatives concerned about the safety of his ex-wife, 37-year-old Heather Trapp, found her body inside his tidy suburban home.

"The Middlesex County, N.J., medical examiner’s office determined she had been stabbed multiple times and classified her death as a homicide.

"Middlesex County prosecutors said Heather Trapp had gone to the home to pick up her daughters late Thursday afternoon after the girls had visited with their father. Police found her body around 8 p.m.

"Amber Alerts notifying the public that two children had been abducted were issued in New Jersey and New York. They were canceled when the girls were found safe."

Source: Washington Post...