New Jersey

NJ Father Found Dead After Police Say He Beat Daughter to Death, Injured Wife

Police identified the suspect in Katherine Kelemen’s murder as her father, 57-year-old Gregory Kelemen of Voorhees. He was also charged with attempted murder in the beating of his wife

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What to Know

  • Gregory Kelemen was accused of killing his adult daughter and injuring his wife in a baseball bat attack inside their Voorhees Township, New Jersey, home on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
  • Katherine Kelemen suffered blunt force trauma in the attack and later died at the hospital, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said.
  • Gregory Kelemen's body was found in a wooded area nearby late on Tuesday morning.

A New Jersey man who police said beat his adult daughter to death and injured his wife in a baseball bat attack inside their Voorhees home Monday was found dead Tuesday in the woods not far from the home.

On Monday, police were called to a home on the 100 block of Round Hill Road in Voorhees Township at 6:49 a.m. in response to a report of an assault on two people. The wife of Gregory Kelemen called 911 to report that she and her daughter were beaten by him with a baseball bat, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by NBC10.

When police arrived, they found Katherine Kelemen, 22, and her mother inside the daughter's bedroom. Katherine Kelemen was suffering from blunt force trauma, the Office of the Camden County Prosecutor said. She was taken to Jefferson University Hospital in Stratford, New Jersey, where doctors pronounced her dead at 8:17 a.m.

The injured woman was taken to the hospital and was listed in stable condition being treated for head and hand injuries. She told investigators that her husband, Gregory Kelemen, woke her up while beating her with a baseball bat, the criminal complaint said.

Gregory Kelemen had kept the bat under the bed, police said. During the attack, he was saying, “I can’t take it anymore.”

After the attack stopped, the wife then crawled into her daughter’s room to find her daughter bloodied and unresponsive and called 911, the criminal complaint said.

Gregory Kelemen was charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a weapon. A manhunt was then launched.

On Tuesday around 11:30 a.m., police found a man’s body in the woods near the Robin Hill Apartments on Preston Avenue, which are a little more than 1 mile from the Kelemen home. On Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors said Kelemen appeared to have died by suicide.

Cooper Health confirmed to NBC10 that Gregory Kelemen was an employee there. The criminal complaint said that he called around 10:10 a.m. Monday to say that he had a family emergency and would be late to work. He never showed up for work Monday.

Neighbors said they were shocked to learn of the killing, calling the Kelemens a nice family.

"Such a nice, nice family," Nick Bennett, a neighbor, told NBC10. "Always said hi. Always went on walks together. Just to think something like this could happen is mind-blowing and sick.”

Katherine Kelemen was a junior at Temple University's College of Liberal Arts. Her mother works at the Philadelphia university's Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

"This is a senseless tragedy that affects our entire Temple community, and the devastating incident remains under police investigation," Associate Vice President & Dean of Students Stephanie Ives and Associate Vice President of Human Resources Sharon Boyle said in a letter to the Temple community. "Temple University is committed to supporting our community during this challenging time."

The university said any students in need of support are encouraged to use Tuttleman Counseling Services.

If you or someone you know is facing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence hotline for help at (800) 799-SAFE (7233) or go to www.thehotline.org for more. States often have domestic violence hotlines, as well.

If you are in crisis, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting 'Home' to 741741.

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