Paula Chin, who was reported missing on Monday, has been found dead in a garbage can at her New Jersey home. Her son is accused of killing her. (Facebook)
A 22-year-old New York man has been accused of killing his mother in their upscale Manhattan apartment after she demanded that he move out, court documents reveal.
Police believe that Jared Eng slit his mother Paula Chin's throat in their Tribeca apartment on January 31, then stuffed her body into her 2004 Land Cruiser and drove it to their suburban home in Morristown, New Jersey before disposing of it in a garbage can there, the New York Daily News reported.
Eng also allegedly enlisted the help of his girlfriend, 21-year-old Caitlyn O'Rourke, and 18-year-old friend Jennifer Lopez to dispose of his mother's body and clean up the crime scene, the Daily News said. All three are facing charges of tampering with physical evidence, and appeared in court on Thursday.
The criminal complaint alleges that Eng confessed to killing his mother during a speaker phone conversation with O'Rourke and Lopez, and admitted that she "took a while to die."
More charges are reportedly expected to be filed against Eng once the autopsy on his mother is completed.
Concerns for Chin's safety began on Monday, when a relative reported her missing to police. It took only one day for authorities to find the widow's body in the trash at her Morristown home, along with a bloody duffle bag filled with clothes and tape.
Chin's husband Philip died in 2008 from unknown causes.
Sources told the Daily News that money issues regarding Eng's inheritance after his father's death may have led to tensions between himself and his mother, who was reportedly trying to kick him out of the Tribeca apartment at the time of her death.
The criminal complaint alleges that Jared Eng confessed to killing his mother during a speaker phone conversation with O'Rourke and Lopez, and admitted that she "took a while to die." (Facebook)
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After their conversation over speaker phone, O'Rourke and Lopez allegedly helped Eng cover up the crime, cleaning up the Tribeca apartment and laundering clothes at the Morristown home.
“It’s all clean,” Lopez said in a text, apparently referring to the apartment. “The hardest part was backing up the car,” she added.
O'Rourke, a student with Eng at SUNY in New Paltz, New York, was reportedly recently accepted to a photography program at the school.
O'Rourke's lawyer, Sarah Kaufmann, said that her client had no connection to the actual killing of Chin. “There’s not even a suggestion here she had anything to do with a more serious crime,” she said. “This woman is a young person in a terrible situation.” O'Rourke's father also reportedly refused to comment on the situation, calling the media "fake news."
O'Rouke's bail is set at $25,000, and Lopez's at $100,000. Eng is being held without bail, and his next court appearance is Monday, Feb. 11. All three are being housed at Rikers Island Correctional Facility.
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When approached outside the 1st precinct stationhouse in Lower Manhattan, Eng denied any connection to his mother's death.
“I love her very much. She gave me everything," he said.
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