Double Murder, Sandy and Mortgage Sale Top November's News

Double Homicide Committed in River Edge on Quiet Street

An angry ex-girlfriend allegedly murdered her former boyfriend and his current girlfriend just days before Halloween on Millbrook Road in River Edge. Monica Mogg, 49, has been charged with two counts of murder relating to the deaths of Arthur Noeldechen and Lillian Kim.

According to County Prosecutor John Molinelli, Mogg had been stalking the victims for several months after her relationship with Noeldechan ended. Law enforcement officials believe that Mogg drove to River Edge where she entered Kim's Millbrook Road home through an unlocked rear door and then confronted the victims, armed with a rifle and knife.

During the confrontation, Mogg allegedly shot Noeldechan and then stabbed Kim before fleeing the state to Connecticut. Neither weapon has been recovered at this time, although New York state police divers recently searched the Hudson River shoreline, according to the Times Herald-Record of Middletown.

Mogg who is being held on $3 million bail also faces two counts of felony murder, armed burglary, criminal weapons possession, destroying evidence, stalking and theft. If convincted, she could be sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Hurricane Sandy slammed RiverDell, leaving thousands without power and trees down across town. While the area avoided heavy flooding, high winds took down numerous trees and power lines but the River Edge and Oradell DPW crews still moved their equipment north as both DPW yards are located not far from the Hackensack River and prone to flooding.

All public and parochial schools were closed for much of the week and even Halloween had to be postponed over safety concerns. For the most part, power was restored in both towns shortly after Election Day.

Following the storm, Oradell waived any permit fees so that residents could quickly repair their homes while River Edge considered future purchases to assist with better communications to its residents.

River Dell High School students have also dedicated the rest of the school year to help Toms River residents who have been victimized by Sandy.

The "jewel of Oradell" received a break as Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino announced on Nov. 8 that he was suspending all foreclosure sales for a two-week period. The Blauvelt Mansion's mortgages sales was scheduled for Nov. 16, and has since been postponed to December.

The mortage was initially split into two sales of approximately $1.9 million and  each but has since been combined into one sale. CareOne had purchased the Blauvelt Mansion property in January 2011 but the mortgages sales were tied up in litigation as foreclosure proceedings had to wind their way through the courts.

Former owner Jeffrey Wells and CareOne had twice been rejected by the Zoning Board of Adjustment to construct an assisted living facility on the front lawn. Wells later took CareOne to court after the company reneged on a prior agreement to continue making $15,000 a month in mortgage payments.

When the Wells family left the Mansion in the spring of 2011, the property was carrying a mortgage of roughly $2.5 million and had been placed in foreclosure the prior year.

The Republican majority was disrupted as challenger Vito Acquafredda reclaimed a seat for the Democrats to create a three-three split as he ousted Council President Paul Cordts. River Edge voters also approved the Open Space Trust Fund referendum and Oradell voted in newcomer Patrick Gallagher to the River Dell Board of Education.

Gyuchang Sim, Colin Busteed and Wendy Walker all return to the River Edge Board of Education; Joe Manzelli and Claudia O'Neill retained their Regional Board of Education seats; Donna Alonso and James Koth were uncontested in their re-election bid to the Oradell council; and Katherine Norian, Christine Robertson and Andrew Oddo were appointed ot the Oradell Board of Education in an uncontested race.

River Edge Police arrested an Edison woman on Nov. 20 for allegedly engaging in prostitution at a River Edge Road spa. Yulan Liu, 52, of Edison was charged with one count of prostutition following a joint investigation between the River Edge Police and Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. 

A New Jersey State Police helicopter helped Mahwah and Bergen County police officers locate two hikers lost in the Ramapo Reservation Saturday night, Mahwah PoliceChief Jim Batelli confirmed. 

According to police, two sisters, ages 19 and 22, from Oradell, were hiking in the Reservation Saturday afternoon, but became disoriented after nightfall.

Follow Patch on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to our free daily newsletter.