A New Jersey man was arrested after killing his wife and staging a robbery to cover up the crime, Bergen County prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege 71-year-old Michael Manis killed his wife on Aug. 11 and called police a day later after first staging a robbery in their Hasbrouck Heights home.
In the 911 call from around 5 p.m. Saturday, authorities said Manis told police he had just arrived home to their house on Hamilton Avenue and found his wife dead.
An investigation by the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department and Bergen County Prosecutor's Office major crimes squad found that Manis had made up the story of the robbery, according to prosecutors.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The criminal complaint stated that Manis confessed to police by Sunday, admitting that he stuffocated his wife with a pillow and staged the home invasion. He then hid some of her jewelry in the basement ceiling, and took other items that belonged to his wife and threw them in a dumpster behind a 7-Eleven store in Woodridge.
A motive for the killing was not immediately clear.
Manis was arrested on Aug. 13 and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree disturbing/desecrating human remains, third-degree hindering apprehension, and filing a false police report, prosecutors said.
Local
Adrian grew up across the street, and he says police removed the hard drive to his family's security camera system as part of the investigation.
"[Police] said 'we need the evidence, there might footage there that might incriminate him," the neighbor said.
Attorney information for Manis was not immediately known.
