Sunday, October 24, 2010
BY DONNA ROLANDO AND TERESA EDMOND
SUBURBAN TRENDS
STAFF WRITER
The Pompton Lakes father who shot and killed his two children, ages 3 and 5, then himself on Monday had attempted suicide at his parents' Ringwood home in the past, said Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Pringle.
But like the Oct. 18 double murder-suicide, the motive behind the attempted suicide remains a mystery. As of press time, investigators are still trying to find out the reason behind the Oct. 18 murder-suicide.
"It's hard to figure out the motivation," Pringle said on Thursday.
Those who knew the shooter, Kurtis V. Birth, 38, described this act of violence as completely out of character for this Cablevision account executive and 1990 Lakeland Regional High School graduate.
Pompton Lakes Police Chief David Struyk said that one of his officers played basketball in Pompton Lakes with Birth and described him as "one of the most docile persons he knew." Birth was a long-time member of the men's basketball league in Pompton Lakes.
On Oct. 18, Ringwood Police responded to a Skyview Road home in Ringwood to check on the welfare of Birth and his two children at the request of their mother. This was after Ringwood Police received a report from Pompton Lakes Police that Birth had removed his two children from a Wayne daycare center at 3:15 p.m. and could be headed to his mother's unoccupied Ringwood home. At the same time, New York City Police were contacted because Kurtis' mother now lives in The Bronx.
At 8 p.m., the officers discovered the body of 5-year-old Jada on the landing of the stairway outside of the Ringwood home, father Kurtis V. Birth dead in the driver's seat of his black Nissan Altima, and 3-year-old Jordan's body inside the Ringwood house. All three were pronounced dead at the scene. All three had a gunshot wound to the head.
Birth shared a residence with his wife Zoey Mendoza-Birth, 37, of Terrace Court condos in Pompton Lakes. Police are still investigating the nature of the Births' relationship amidst reports that they were going through a separation. Pompton Lakes Police Lt. Steve Seifried stated previously that the couple was going through a friendly separation.
The investigation is being led by Detective Sgt. Paul Rothlauf and Detective James Rapp of the Ringwood Police Department. The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department crime scene investigators are assisting in the investigation as well.
Pringle confirmed that the gun used in the murder-suicide was a .22 caliber rifle. Investigators don't know where the rifle came from, but determined that the weapon was not stolen, Pringle said.
At the Oct. 19 Borough Council meeting, Mayor Ted Taukus acknowledged the many rumors surrounding the Birth tragedy. He read the police-issued press release to dispel the rumors.
"That's what happened," he said afterward. "Anything else that you hear, forget about it. There's nothing verified."
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