Mount Olive New Jersey Homicide SuspectA former teacher at an elementary school teacher in Wharton NJ faces murder charges for allegedly shooting and killing her boyfriend in Mount Olive, New Jersey.

The fatal shooting happened on March 3, 2014. The 52-year-old suspect is accused of murdering her boyfriend, a 51-year-old retired New York City police officer who resided in Staten Island, NY.

The suspect was employed as a fourth grade teacher at Marie V. Duffy Elementary School in Wharton, NJ.

According to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect was “extremely upset” at the time of the killing because she was dealing with the possible loss of her job and a hike in child support payments. On the day of the shooting, the suspect was reportedly denied entry into the school from which she had been placed on a leave of absence.

Moreover, just three days before the homicide, a Sussex County Family Court judge had ordered the suspect to pay more child support to her ex-husband, a retired Newton NJ police officer who has custody of the ex-couple’s two children.

The murder case is currently in the pretrial stage in Morris County Superior Court, with prosecutors arguing that the suspect was so upset on the day of the shooting that she intended to kill the victim.

Just before the fatal shooting, the victim went to the suspect’s home in Mount Olive and reportedly told her that he wanted to end their relationship. According to prosecutors, the suspect responded by firing multiple gunshots at the victim.

During the pretrial hearing, the suspect’s defense lawyer claimed that the suspect acted in self-defense when she shot the victim and that the suspect only fired the weapon because “her life was in jeopardy.”

If the suspect is eventually convicted of murder, she faces severe penalties. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3, murder is the most severe crime in the New Jersey Criminal Code. A conviction on first degree charges could result in life imprisonment in NJ State Prison.

For more information about this case, view the NJ.com article entitled “Teacher Was ‘Extremely Upset’ on Day She Allegedly Shot Ex-Cop Boyfriend, Prosecutor Says.”