Eric Pleger is charged with murder and being held on $2 million bail in the death of his wife, Luisa Pleger.
NORTH ARLINGTON - Luisa Pleger stopped saying 'hello' weeks before she was killed, her neighbors said on Saturday.
The 47-year-old - known as a private but kind person who loved dogs - was found dead Friday in Apt. 28K in the Riverview Gardens apartment complex.
Pleger lived there with her 45-year-old husband, Eric Pleger, who has been charged with her murder and is being held on $2 million bail.
"Luisa was very a friendly, very open, very warm woman," said Nora Garcia, who lives in the building next door. "We bonded over our dogs. She was very concerned about my dog, who has epilepsy."
Garcia and another neighbor, Ann Kurta, say Luisa's Christmas decorations were among the best in the neighborhood. She kept a beautiful flower garden in warm weather and decorated each holiday, they said.
They pointed to her windows, which are already decorated for Valentine's Day.
"She was very sweet," said Kurta, who has lived in the complex for more than 20 years.
A couple of weeks ago Luisa Pleger began acting differently, neighbors said.
"She stopped making eye contact," Garcia said. "She wouldn't say good morning anymore."
Kurta noticed she wasn't seeing Luisa as much as she used to.
"I hadn't seen her, hadn't spoken to her in maybe the past couple of weeks," Kurta said. "That was unusual."
As much as Luisa Pleger was warm and friendly, Eric Pleger seemed equally aloof, alone, and a bit eccentric, said neighbor Sal Mazzella.
"He was out here shoveling snow the other day in his T-shirt," Mazzella said.
The neighbors could not recall ever talking with Eric Pleger.
"He didn't speak to anyone," Garcia said. "He wasn't approachable."
They recalled seeing Eric and Luisa Pleger strolling the grounds of the apartment complex together, often with their dog.
"You would never think that anything was wrong," Mazzella said.
"There was never any arguing," Kurta added. "I never heard any harsh words."
Police have said there was no history of domestic violence at the address before this week. They were called to the apartment on a welfare check about noon on Friday and found Eric Pleger in a room with his wife's lifeless body, according to Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal.
They suspect the woman had been dead for a day or more.
Grewal has not said how or why Luisa Pleger was killed.
Luisa Pleger, who grew up in Connecticut, has worked for Rutgers University in the Office of Information Technology since 2009.
Luisa was a "cherished as a sunny and caring presence to all who worked with or merely encountered her," Chancellor Nancy Cantor said in a statement on Saturday.
The university is offering counseling to students and staff.
Students at Rutgers University in Newark may contact the Counseling Center at 973-353-5805. Employees across Rutgers may contact Rutgers Human Resources/Faculty Staff & Assistance Program at 848-932-3956.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.