The investigation into a distinguished New Jersey realtor’s beating death has pinned her unemployed stepson as the suspect who allegedly fled the scene.
Wednesday, 48-year-old Irma Daniels was found dead in her Cresskill, New Jersey home after police responded to a 911 call. When they arrived, authorities found that she had suffered from blunt force trauma, later believed to have been sustained from being struck by a baseball bat.
By Thursday, the Daily Voice reported that John Daniels Jr., her 30-year-old stepson, described as unemployed with an MBA from Boston College, had been taken into custody after his own father, John Daniels Sr., had pegged him as the suspected killer.
Initially, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella had detailed, “The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Cresskill Police Department are investigating a homicide that occurred…in Cresskill, NJ on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. At approximately 6:46 p.m., Cresskill police responded to a 911 call and found the victim deceased of apparent blunt force trauma. The decedent’s name is currently being withheld pending notification of next of kin.”
“This investigation is being conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love and the Cresskill Police Department under the direction of Chief James Domville. No other information is available at this time.”
According to his Linkedin profile, the suspect’s last known place of employment was working at his father’s law firm Daniels & Daniels in Guttenberg, New Jersey from 2018 to 2020. It further explained that he received his master’s degree from the Boston College Carroll School of Management in May 2022.
Of note, the decedent had reportedly emigrated to the United States from Russia in 2011 at which point she married Daniels Sr.; the same year that the suspect had graduated from Bergen Catholic High School.
Earlier this year, the victim had received the NJ Realtors Silver Circle of Excellence Sales Award, to which she said in March, “I finally did it. After 7 years in the real estate industry I finally received the distinguished award.”
“I was a long way to get where I am now. Everything came to me through perseverance, work ethic, failures, creative mind and most importantly my mindset that I am not a quitter,” she continued and added, “I am very happy to share my success with my clients, friend and family. Thank you for your trust. It means everything to me.”
By contrast, her stepson hardly had anything to say during his initial appearance before a judge Friday when he was ordered held without bail.
“Yes, your honor,” and, “No, your honor,” were reported as the extent of the suspect’s responses when questioned by the judge ahead of his first hearing slated for Wednesday.
Daniels Jr. was charged with first-degree murder, hindering apprehension by providing false information, hindering apprehension by suppression and weapons charges.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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