Cops: Gunman, 2 Others Dead in NJ Standoff

The bodies of a woman and a 13-year-old boy were found at the Trenton home where a dayslong standoff ended today with police shooting a man suspected of holding three children hostage, authorities said today. The standoff began Friday afternoon when police looking for children that hadn't been in school in 12 days found an armed 38-year-old Gerald Tyrone Murphy. Police retreated, rescuing a 19-year-old man who said he hadn't seen his mother or sisters since about April 24.

The standoff ended at 3:45am today, 37 hours after it began, when officers stormed the house and shot Murphy because he was threatening one of the children. Murphy was taken into custody and later died of his injuries. Authorities found the body of a woman and a 13-year-old boy inside the home. The woman's body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and police said she appeared to have died two weeks ago. Three of her children—an 18-year-old woman, a 16-year-old girl, and a 4-year-old boy—were rescued. Police said Murphy was a registered sex offender with a long criminal history. (More Trenton stories.)