Family 'Devastated' By Apparent Bergen Murder-Suicide, Report Says

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said that authorities believe Michael Stasko, 53, shot and killed his wife, Melisa, and their daughter, Mellie, before taking his own life last week in a murder-suicide that has sent shockwaves through Edgewater, The Record reported.

Their bodies were discovered on Christmas in their 17th-floor apartment after they failed to turn up at a family holiday celebration in Missouri, according to the report.

“All of us are devastated by their murders and will never understand how a husband and father could do this,” Nancy Hunter, Melisa’s aunt, said in the report.

Hunter said in the report that Stasko was abusive and “mentally unstable,” but did not elaborate further.

Authorities found Stasko with a gunshot wound under his chin, and his wife and daugher had been shot in the back of their heads, Molinelli said in the report. No notes were found in the apartment.