Mystery surrounds death of Fil-Am mother in NJ

JERSEY CITY — A Fil-Am mother was found dead in her family’s home in this city Monday with initial investigation indicating she was beaten to death, the Filipino Reporter has learned.

The woman was identified as Monica Garcia Montone, 34, of 124 Sycamore Road in the Country Village.
 
She reportedly left behind a three-year-old son, who was taken to Jersey City Medical Center for evaluation, at the time detectives removed the body from the house around 1 p.m.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Gene Rubino said her death has been ruled suspicious, with the cause and manner of her death still being determined by the state Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Newark.

Rubino told the Reporter it would take weeks before the medical examiner releases a full autopsy report.

He declined to release other personal information about Montone, but said the homicide police is already in touch with the victim’s family.

Montone is the second New Jersey Fil-Am mother to die under suspicious circumstances in less than a month.

On July 25, Fil-Am nurse Jennifer Bongco of Winslow, N.J. was found dead on a roadside with her body bearing multiple stab wounds; her husband Kevin Ambrose was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $2 million bail.

Montone’s husband Kevin Montone has not been charged in connection with his wife’s death, but he was arrested on narcotics charges following the discovery of the body in their home reportedly belonging to Kevin’s mother, a former Jersey City police officer.

According to a Jersey Journal report, a neighbor saw Kevin, 33, laughing uncontrollably and had trouble walking when he was placed in the police car, without handcuffs.

The same report said he appeared Tuesday in Central Judicial Processing court on charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of school property.

Represented by a public defender, he is also charged with possession of a prescription drug that was not obtained from a practitioner under a valid prescription.

At the hearing, bail was set at $35,000 with a 10 percent cash option. —Filipino Reporter

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