By: Cara Latham
EAST WINDSOR Donald Zampini was in custody this week at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital on $500,000 bail after being charged with the Sept. 1 murder of a township woman, according to the Mercer County prosecutor’s office.
Township police said Mr. Zampini, 70, of Wyndmoor Drive, stabbed 63-year-old Barbara Morris, with whom he lived. They said they found her body in the living room of the residence, where Mr. Zampini also was found.
An autopsy completed Tuesday revealed that the cause of death was "multiple stab wounds to the body and a perforating stab wound to the left lung," according to Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office. Police said the wounds were inflicted with a "household knife."
Police said they responded to a 9-1-1 call at 12:57 a.m. by a caller they did not identify who said Ms. Morris had been murdered and that Mr. Zampini was attempting to commit suicide.
Ms. DeBlasio would not verify a published report that Mr. Zampini was the caller or elaborate on the relationship between him and Ms. Morris, saying the investigation was still ongoing.
When police arrived at the house, Mr. Zampini had cuts and bruises on his hand and appeared to be losing consciousness due to ingestion of over-the-counter sleep aids, police said.
Ms. Morris was employed through St. Peter’s Hospital as a registered nurse for the Clearbrook Adult Community in Monroe Township, according to her obituary. She was a member of St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church of Hightstown. According to property records, she owned the Wyndmoor Drive home.
No bail review or hearing had been set as of Wednesday for Mr. Zampini, Ms. DeBlasio said. Mr. Zampini has no prior criminal record in Mercer County, she said.
A published report stated that Mr. Zampini lived in the Bayside section of Queens, N.Y., but Ms. DeBlasio said she could not confirm that. According to the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Zampini has no criminal record in Queens.
Neighbors described Ms. Morris as a nice lady who everyone knew from walking her dogs.
Michael Rivera, who lives nearby, said he would see her walking her two white dogs every day.
"I was very, very upset," he said of her death. "Nobody expects the unusual. I never heard of murder here."
He said he didn’t know Mr. Zampini or if the two were dating; only that he’d heard that "he’s been with her for many years."
Bobby McGinn of Wyndmoor Drive said he was shocked to hear about her death.
"She was a very nice lady," he said. "It’s sad to see her go."
Mr. McGinn said he woke up about 3 a.m. last Friday to get the paper and thought the paperboy was outside, but emergency vehicles were there instead.
"That shouldn’t happen to anybody," he said as he started to cry.
Mr. McGinn said he used to catch up with Ms. Morris sometimes while she walked her dogs, one of which recently died.
"It was really sad for her," he said.
Mr. McGinn also said he didn’t know Mr. Zampini’s relationship to Ms. Morris.
Another resident of Wyndmoor Drive, who declined to give her name, said none of the neighbors knew anything about Mr. Zampini.
"We never saw the two of them walking together," she said. "She’s very friendly with everybody, but she never mentioned anything about a boyfriend or that she was living with anybody until this thing happened. Once in a while, we would see the guy walking around, but we didn’t even know which house he comes from. It’s very unfortunate."
The murder is the third in the township in the last four years.
Charles Nesko, 66, stabbed his roommate, Steven O’Connor, 69, with a kitchen knife during an argument in August 2004 in the apartment they shared on Avon Drive. Mr. Nesko died in jail after his conviction on reckless manslaughter.
Maritza Soto was convicted and sentenced last year for the June 2003 beating death of her toddler son, Daniel.
