Annette Torres called police several times in two years but apparently never left Mark Morris, who is accused of killing her and himself.
BERGENFIELD - In three separate calls she made to 911 in the last 26 months of her life, Annette Torres remains calm but determined.
"I need somebody removed out of my home," she told a dispatcher in January 2014. Torres was referring to Mark Morris, her live-in boyfriend and father of her 11-year-old son.
Torres, 36, made a similar call in April 2015, telling police Morris, 44, had been doing drugs all night. "I want him checked into the hospital. He looks terrible." And in December 2015, she told 911: "I don't know what he's going to do because he's destroyed the house already."
Three months after the last call, authorities say Mark Morris shot and killed Annette Torres before taking his own life in the home they shared with their child at 268 West Clinton Ave.
The recordings were released to NJ Advance Media this week by the Bergenfield Police Department in response to a recent OPRA request. They show a young couple trapped in an abusive relationship for at least two years prior to their deaths.
Bergenfield Police Chief Cathy Madalone, while declining to speak specifically about the case, says the predictable patterns of domestic violence often end in tragedy.
Authorities are not sure how to break the cycle, she said.
"In general a lot of people will get a restraining order on Friday and on Monday morning they will be in court trying to get it dropped," Madalone said.
Police called 5 times before tragedy
David Cohen, division director of Bergen County's Alternatives to Domestic Violence, says what happened in Bergenfield is tragic but all too common.
"A victim who is going to leave her abuser is going to leave up to seven times and come back before she actually leaves for good," Cohen said. "This kind of scenario is not uncommon."
While few details have been released because the case remains under investigation, authorities have said that Torres and Morris had a history of domestic discord. Records show police were called to the home five times over a two-year period before the murder-suicide.
"We can't physically take people away from each other," Madalone said. "They have to want help. People who are victims sometimes don't know how to get out of the cycle of violence."
In New Jersey, homicides due to domestic violence occur frequently and may be on the rise, especially in Bergen County, according to experts.
Recent cases include:
- Former police officer Arthur Lomando, 44, accused of killing Suzanne Bardzell, a 48-year-old special education teacher and mother of two in Midland Park. Lomando then allegedly tried to kill himself by jumping in front of a train, authorities said.
- Businessman Michael Stasko, 53, who authorities say murdered his wife, Melisa, 43, and eight-year-old daughter, Mellie, before taking his own life in Edgewater.
- Eric Pleger, 45, accused of beating his wife Luisa, 47, to death with a hammer in their North Arlington apartment.
- Michael A. Tabacchi, 27, accused of strangling and stabbing his wife, Iran Pars Tabacchi, 41, before killing himself in their Closter home. The couple's 15-month old baby was nearby in his crib when the killings occurred.
- Jose B. Ayala of North Bergen, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Zaray Montenegro, 32, and leaving her body behind a building.
- Mario Flores, 33, accused of killing his wife, Roxanne, 35, in their Camden County home while their three children were in the house.
- Michael Juskin, 100, who killed his 88-year-old wife, Rosalia, with an ax before killing himself in their Elmwood Park home. Investigators said the final act was a culmination of decades of abuse.
- John Jordan, 47, of Lodi, accused of killing his wife, Tracey, 39, and abducting their two sons.
- In Woodbridge, hairstylist Vito Nigro, 42, is charged with murder in the death of his wife, Giorgina, who was bludgeoned in their home. Police had been called to the residence 11 times before the killing. Nigro jumped off a bridge in a suicide attempt after Giorgina's death, authorities said.
Maribel Bruno of the National Domestic Violence Hotline says calls, chats and texts to the service rose 15 percent in 2015. Of the contacts made, Bruno says 84 percent complained of emotional or verbal abuse while 59 percent reported physical abuse such as hitting, biting or choking.
Cohen says until a person seeks therapy they may not realize they have been the victim of an abuser.
Many victims don't want their abusers punished, he said.
"She wants him fixed," Cohen said. "There are feelings there. When there are children involved it gets very complicated."
Camden County man arrested in wife's killing
Cohen said victims may be financially dependent on an abuser, another perceived reason to stay, he said.
In the Bergenfield case, records show that Mark Morris owned the house where he lived with Annette and their son. "It's his house," Annette Torres said during one of the 911 calls.
Court documents show a bank filed to foreclose on the home several months before the murder-suicide.
"Domestic violence is about power and control," Cohen said. "When the victim makes a move to extradite herself from the situation and when an abuser feels he is losing control, that could be the most dangerous time of all.
"The fact that homicide can result is a sad and tragic fact," Cohen said.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.