A Gloucester Township woman and popular schoolteacher who police say was stabbed by her husband and left in their burning home had recently ended the relationship, new court documents show.
Police found Monica Morris, 51, on the third floor of a townhouse surrounded by smoke around 2:25 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to the documents.
She was lying on the floor, suffering knife wounds to the throat and neck and surrounded by blood, and there was a fire in the bedroom, police said.
Officers also found Morris’ husband, Jerome, 50, inside the home, covered in blood and holding a knife, according to the documents.
He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and related crimes.
According to the affidavit of probable cause for Jerome Morris’ arrest, Morris had recently told him she was ending the marriage.
Jerome Morris had a history of threatening behavior and struggled with unemployment, according to the affidavit.
Around the time of the stabbing, a witness who was in the house at the time told police they heard screaming coming from the third floor.
The witness, who was not identified in the document, went upstairs and heard Morris exclaim that her husband was trying to kill her and to call 911, the affidavit says.
The door was locked, and the witness called police before grabbing a key and entering the room, the affidavit says.
According to the document, the witness saw Jerome Morris on top of his wife with a knife in his hand and fled the scene.
Camden County fire officials are investigating the cause of the blaze, and the findings could lead to additional charges, authorities said.
Prosecutors said the case was being investigated as a domestic violence incident in addition to homicide.
Killings involving domestic abuse have risen nationally in recent years, and in Philadelphia, have increased at a steady clip. They accounted for about one in six homicides in the city last year, even as the overall homicide rate has fallen.
As news spread of Morris’ death Wednesday, those who knew the Trenton Central High School teacher and mother of four offered an outpouring of shock and grief.
“She inspired countless students with her kindness and dedication,” her son-in-law, Junior Joseph, wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses.
“Monica was always looking out for others, whether it was her four children, her students, or anyone in her community who needed a helping hand,” Joseph said.
Stefhany Mendez wrote on Facebook after Morris’ killing that she was “one of the sweetest teachers at Trenton high.”
Morris, a culinary teacher, had “such an impact on us,” Mendez wrote.
Morris’ own Facebook page shows images of a mother who valued spending time with her children.
On Oct. 31, her birthday, Morris thanked her well-wishers and wrote: “ … I am blessed beyond measure.”