Crime & Safety Freehold Twp Couple Dead In Murder-Suicide: Prosecutor The woman has been identified by school officials as the former chair of the local education foundation, reports said. Reply FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office has labeled the death of a Freehold Township couple a murder-suicide, as authorities continue to investigate in the death of a woman who was the former chair of the Freehold Township Education Foundation. In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, the prosecutor's office confirmed that Denise Bartone was killed inside the family's Koster Drive home in Freehold Township. "A vehicle registered to the family was discovered parked on the Thomas Edison Memorial Bridge in Woodbridge early this morning," the prosecutor's office said. "Kenneth Bartone, the husband of the victim, was found floating in the Raritan River this afternoon, dead of an apparent suicide. We do not believe there is any further danger to the public." The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Andrea Tozzi of the prosecutor's office at 1-800-733-7443, or Freehold Township Police Detective James Burdge at 732-462-7908. Denise A. Bartone, 48, was the most recent past chair of the Freehold Township Education Foundation, which raised funds for various needs within the Freehold Township's kindergarten-through-8th grade schools. Kenneth J. Bartone, 53, was pulled from the Raritan River around 1:50 p.m., according to an NBC New York report. Neighbors told the Asbury Park Press that authorities were at the home before 7:30 a.m. Ed Coughlin, who told APP.com he did not know the family well, saw police at the home when he left for work Monday morning. Denise Bartone's Twitter account showed she had been very active in her role as the chair of the Freehold Township Education Foundation, promoting fundraisers and urging people to get involved with the district's schools. The foundation's Twitter accound showed her making a number of check presentations, including one for $20,000 to help the district's efforts to create makerspaces in all of the elementary and middle schools in 2018. We were pleased to present a $20,000 check for STEAM212 to the BOE at their meeting last night. We have raised $190K toward our $212K goal to help fund makerspaces at all of the elementary and middle schools in the district! Visit https://t.co/ULB55tsp03 for more info. pic.twitter.com/utZKySEGOj — Freehold Twp Ed Fdn (@FTEFnj) January 17, 2018 A profile page for Denise Bartone on the Freehold Township Education Foundation website had been wiped clean as of late Monday morning, but traces remaining on social media said she was the immediate past chair. Her social media accounts also showed the couple had three daughters.<doc-sep>FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — A day after authorities found Denise A. Barton dead in her family's home and pulled the body of Kenneth J. Barton from the Raritan River, what exactly happened to the Freehold Township couple remains a mystery. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office late Monday afternoon said they were investigating the death of Denise Bartone, 48, as a homicide. The death of her husband, Kenneth, 53, was "an apparent suicide," they said. "We do not believe there is any further danger to the public," a statement from the prosecutor's office on Monday said. But the prosecutor's office has not said what investigators have learned about the couple or their deaths so far.<doc-sep>
FREEHOLD, New Jersey (WABC) -- Police are investigating the deaths of a prominent member of a New Jersey school district and her husband as a murder suicide.Authorities say Denise Bartone was found fatally stabbed inside her home on Koster Drive in Freehold Monday morning, and that her husband then killed himself by jumping off an area bridge.The couple's three daughters were apparently home at the time, but it is not believed the murder took place in front of them.According to officials, a vehicle registered to the family was discovered parked on the Thomas Edison Memorial Bridge in Woodbridge. Kenneth Bartone, the victim's husband, was found floating in the Raritan River Monday afternoon.Authorities say they do not believe there is any further danger to the public.Neighbors described Denise Bartone as outgoing and say she loved her three daughters.They say the family moved to the home around 15 years ago and that they never noticed anything unusual.Denise Bartone was the chairperson of the Freehold Township Education Foundation.The head of the school system expressed sadness over the loss and the impact on students. "The district has made arrangements for additional counselors and child study team members to be available for students (Tuesday) at the schools most impacted by this loss," a statement read.The case is being investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, along with the Freehold Township Police Department and with the assistance of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, the New Jersey State Police, and the Woodbridge and Sayreville police departments.Anyone with information regarding this case can reach out to Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Detective Andrea Tozzi at 1-800-733-7443 or Freehold Township Police Detective James Burdge at 732-462-7908.----------