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New Jersey Father John Spincken Jumps From Bridge With Two Toddlers In Apparent Murder-Suicide, But The Kids Live [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 12:55 PST, Oct 25, 2016

A New Jersey father who has now been identified as John Spincken did the unthinkable on Monday night. According to reports, the 37-year-old man jumped from a 100-foot overpass, his two toddler sons in his arms, in an apparent attempt to commit a terrible murder-suicide. Police and locals say that the area where New Jersey father John Spincken jumped from Interstate 287 is one commonly used by people for the purpose of suicide, so first responders who found Spincken’s vehicle parked on the shoulder of the highway braced themselves for the worst.

The terrifying incident began just before 7:00 p.m. on Monday evening. That’s when New Jersey authorities received a frantic call from John Spincken’s terrified wife. She told the dispatcher that her husband had threatened to harm their children, little boys ages 1 and 3. Apparently, the couple had been arguing, and it wasn’t the first time. According to friends and neighbors, the New Jersey father and his wife had a well-known history of domestic troubles.

As ABC 7 New York reports, law enforcement found the threat that New Jersey father John Spincken posed to his children “credible,” and they responded immediately to the couple’s home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27OkpDXapJ0

By the time New Jersey State Police arrived at the home of John Spincken and his family, he had already taken off with his young children, and the hunt was on to find the trio before somebody got hurt. Unfortunately, police were not able to track the New Jersey father and his boys down until after he’d already done the unthinkable.

At just about 8:00 p.m., New Jersey state troopers found Spincken’s white SUV abandoned on the shoulder of Interstate 287 on the Wanaque Bridge. They were able to track the suicidal man quickly due to cooperation provided by his cell phone carrier. The company reportedly helped law enforcement locate their customer using his phone’s “pings.” Upon responding to the scene, investigators immediately suspected that John Spincken had jumped from the 100-foot-high bridge, despite its eight-foot chain-link fence, due to the location’s history of being used by suicidal individuals to end their lives.

As CNN reports, law enforcement officials who used a footpath to trek down to the riverbed below prepared themselves for the worst as they sought New Jersey father John Spincken and his young sons. What they found at the end of their search was both heartbreaking and a miracle. John Spincken was pronounced dead at the scene; his 1-year-old and 3-year-old sons, however, were both alive. Not just alive, but alert and responsive, according to Captain Christopher DePuyt of the Pequannock Township Police Department.

“When the officers found the children conscious and alert, it was nothing short of a miracle, that’s for sure. I, like anybody that’s hearing this story now or last night, if you hear the beginning of the story you’re expecting the worst.

According to investigators, it is believed that the trees underneath the bridge cushioned the landing of the two little boys. However, their father John Spincken wasn’t so lucky.

At this point, investigators are unsure whether or not New Jersey father John Spincken jumped from the 100-foot-high overpass while holding his sons or if he threw them over the edge and then jumped. They have asked anyone who may have witnessed the shocking and terrifying apparent murder-suicide attempt by John Spincken to contact law enforcement to help them fill in the gaps.

Thankfully, both of John Spincken’s sons appear to have suffered non-life-threatening (albeit serious) injuries. Both boys are expected to fully recover from their father’s shocking act of abuse.

The investigation into New Jersey father John Spincken’s final reckless moments is still ongoing, and police have not said whether or not he may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his crimes.

[Featured Image by TFoxFoto/Shutterstock]

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