What led to Maplewood double killing: Cops say au pair broke up with boyfriend, then he came after her

Karen Bermudez-Rodriguez wanted out of her relationship.

Early Saturday morning, she texted her boyfriend, Joseph D. Porter, to break up with him.

But Porter grew upset. And neighbors had noticed him before, often sitting in his car for hours on Walton Road, where Bermudez-Rodriguez, an au pair, lived. And he still had a set of keys for the house that she had given him.

Hours later, police officers found Bermudez-Rodriguez lying on the pavement of Woodland Avenue, riddled with stab wounds, feet away from the house where she took care of David Kimowitz’s children. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Inside his Walton Road home, Kimowitz, 40, was found dead, stab wounds visible on his body.

“Both victims were killed as a result of this incident,” the probable cause affidavit declares in clinical language.

Porter is now charged with two counts of murder and is being held in the Essex County jail. He is scheduled for a detention hearing Thursday.

The court records provide grisly details of the early-morning homicide set off by a violent refusal to accept rejection.

At about 6 a.m. Saturday, police responded to calls of a wounded person. They found Bermudez-Rodriguez lying on the ground, with her hands bound by tape, covered with stab wounds, records show. Witnesses recounted hearing fighting and seeing a man assaulting Bermudez-Rodriguez. Video footage shows a man chasing her through the street where she collapsed, records show.

Just hours earlier, between 1:30 and 2 a.m., Bermudez-Rodriguez had texted Porter to end their relationship and get back the keys she had given him to Kimowitz's Walton Road home, records show. Porter grew upset and drove to the residence.

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"Joseph [Porter] texted back that he was upset with Ms. Bermudez-Rodriguez because she was trying to end the relationship with Joseph," records show.

When Porter arrived, he used the keys to enter the house and went upstairs, where he picked up a knife and stabbed Kimowitz, records show. Police officers would later find Kimowitz's body, a knife resting nearby.

After stabbing Kimowitz, Porter bound Bermudez-Rodriguez's hands with tape, records show. Still bound, Bermudez-Rodriguez broke free and ran outside, with Porter chasing her. Porter grabbed a different knife and ran her down, stabbing her in the street, records show.

Details of the killings come straight from Porter after he was arrested at Newark Airport, trying to board a flight to Cancun, records show. When officers arrested him, Porter had marks and scratches all over his neck.

Step by step, Porter told police how he went to the Walton Road home, used Bermudez-Rodriguez’s keys to open the door and walked up to the second floor, where he picked up a knife and stabbed Kimowitz, records show.

'Somebody started to scream':Double homicide in Maplewood home of NYC comedy club owner

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A young, quiet family

The blood-curdling screams echoed through the quiet Maplewood street, shaking the quaint neighborhood. One neighbor said she would be locking her doors from now on.

“In this little enclave it’s pretty cozy and safe, so this one was a shocker,” one resident said.

Bermudez-Rodriguez had moved to the country from Colombia as part of a program that places au pairs with families, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. At the Walton Road home, she took care of Kimowitz’s two kids while living there.

By many accounts, Kimowitz and his family were a young, happy family, just settling into a quiet suburban life after living in Manhattan. Kimowitz was a co-owner of The Stand, an upscale New York comedy club that just recently reopened after a move. By many accounts from his friends and colleagues, the comedy world has lost an ally.

New Jersey stand-up comedian Rich Vos, a regular performer at The Stand, remembered a “great guy” and “friend,” happy with his life on both sides of the river.

“This is such shocking news,” Vos said in a Facebook post. “A great guy and friend has passed this weekend. Just talked with him last week and Fri night. He seemed so happy, a wife, 2 kids, his new club opened. And now this horrific news. David Kimowitz you will be missed. RIP.”

Along with his co-owners, Kimowitz fostered a welcoming environment for veteran and up-and-coming stand-up comics alike at his club. As one of the newer comedy clubs, The Stand often gave younger comics a place to get stage time in a city where it can be hard to get more than a few minutes. The club was also home to longtime stand-up fixtures like Tracy Morgan, who chose The Stand as one of the first clubs at which he performed upon his return to comedy.

“I’m so sad and horrified to hear of the death of David Kimowitz,” said Laurie Kilmartin, another stand-up comedian. “A club owner who loved comedy and comics. A terrible loss for his young family, and the NYC comedy community. RIP David.”

Stand-up comic Jason Michael “Big Jay” Oakerson, a regular at The Stand who was managed by Kimowitz, posted a photo of Kimowitz congratulating Oakerson on getting an hour-long comedy special, a milestone in most comedian’s careers.

Email: torrejon@northjersey.com