NJ Supreme Court: Parents' statements in Bound Brook murder probe admissible at trial
TRENTON – A state Supreme Court decision has cleared the way for the trial of two parents charged with giving false statements to authorities and hindering the investigation of a 2019 homicide at their Bound Brook home for which their son was found guilty.
The justices on Feb. 23 dismissed the appeal of David and Cindy Keogh of a lower court ruling that their statements to police on the evening of the murder of Old Bridge resident Terrence C. Coulanges on Jan. 9, 2019, can be used against them in the trial.
Their son, Ryan Keogh, was found guilty of the murder in the fatal shooting and sentenced to 50 years in state prison without parole by Superior Court Judge Peter Tober.
His parents are also facing a charge of endangering an injured victim.
The Supreme Court decision came after hearing oral arguments in the case on Jan. 31. The justices also reviewed transcripts of the murder trial where, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, both parents admitted under oath that the statements they gave to investigators on the night of the shooting were false.
In June 2022, a state Appellate Court ruled that statements made by the parents can be admitted as evidence against them on charges they gave false information to police.
That court ruling was a result of a Somerset County Prosecutor's Office appeal of a Superior Court decision that the statements could not be used against them.
The parents' lawyer had argued that the statements should be suppressed because they had not been administered their Miranda rights against self-incrimination when they gave statements on the night of the homicide
The Prosecutor's Office argued that they were "treated as witnesses and not suspects," but a Superior Court judge disagreed and said they should have been given their Miranda rights because they did not feel "free to leave" Bound Brook Police Headquarters.
The Appellate Court disagreed with the Superior Court ruling, saying that the parents were told they could leave police headquarters after giving their statements but chose to remain until after their son gave his statement.
The homicide investigation began at 7:36 p.m. Jan. 9, 2019, when the Middlesex Borough Police Department received a 911 call reporting shots fired at a Farm Lane home in Bound Brook.
Bound Brook police went to the scene and found Coulanges outside the home with gunshot wounds to the right thigh and left chest.
Police and medical personnel started lifesaving measures. Coulanges was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Crime Scene Investigation Unit and Bound Brook detectives found neighbors who said they heard gunshots at about 5:45 p.m. that day.
The investigation found that Ryan Keogh, along with his mother, then left the home shortly after 5:45 p.m. and went to his father's office in Green Brook. The 911 call was placed about an hour and 51 minutes after Coulanges was shot.
Ryan Keough had maintained that he shot Coulanges in self-defense. His lawyers argued that Coulanges came to the house where he was not wanted, a struggle ensued, and he was shot by Keogh.
As police were securing the house and the crime scene, the Keoghs stayed at the end of the driveway. A Middlesex Borough police officer who had responded to the scene told the Keoghs to refrain from talking to each other, court papers say.
The Keoghs were then taken to Bound Brook Police Headquarters in three separate police vehicles to give statements. A detective from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office interviewed each Keogh separately in the company of other detectives. The Keoghs were separated from each other with the father and son in interview rooms and the mother in the lobby.
The parents gave their statements and they waited in the lobby until the interview with their son ended about four hours later. They were then escorted back home to collect some things because they were not allowed to stay because the home was still being processed as a crime scene.
After more investigation, the son was charged with murder on Feb. 13, 2019, and his parents were charged the following day.
The Prosecutor's Office is alleging that the parents gave false statements to the police about the night of the killing.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, video from a neighbor's security camera and tracking of all three Keoghs' cellphones revealed that their statements to police were false.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bound Brook parents’ statements in murder probe admissible at trial
