Grandfather’s Desperate 911 Plea in NJ Triple Murder‑Suicide Shakes Ocean County

Berkeley Township, NJ – Authorities have released the chilling 911 call made in the moments after a deadly triple murder‑suicide inside a quiet Ocean County neighborhood, offering a harrowing window into the terror that unfolded inside a Fairwood Drive home.

According to investigators, 37‑year‑old Vaughn Stewart is accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife, 38‑year‑old Deonna Stewart, along with her parents, Allan and Michelle Russell, before turning the gun on himself in the early‑morning hours. Three young children were inside the home at the time but were not physically harmed.

📞Transcript Excerpt: 911 Call from Ocean County Murder-Suicide
Dispatcher: 911, where is your emergency?
Caller (Grandfather): Please hurry! He’s got a gun—he’s shooting! My grandkids are inside!
Dispatcher: Sir, stay calm. Who has the gun?
Caller: Vaughn! He’s shooting—he shot my daughter! He’s going back inside!
Dispatcher: Are you safe right now?
Caller: No! He’s going back in the house—my grandkids are in there! Please, send someone now!
[Gunshots heard in background]
Dispatcher: Sir, stay on the line. Officers are on the way.

The desperate 911 call

In the newly released 911 audio, a grandfather—believed to be Allan Russell—can be heard frantically pleading for help as chaos erupts around him. His voice is strained and panicked as he tries to explain that there is an armed man at the home and that his family is in danger.

At one point in the call, the grandfather begs dispatchers to send police quickly as the situation escalates. The fear and confusion in his voice underscore just how fast the violence unfolded and how little time anyone had to react. The call captures the sound of terror inside a home that, until that morning, was just another quiet house on a suburban Ocean County street.

The 911 recording, featured in an NBC New York report, lays bare the raw emotion of a family under siege and has quickly become a central, haunting piece of the investigation.

What investigators say happened

Berkeley Township police were dispatched to the Fairwood Drive home around 5 a.m. after reports of shots fired. When officers arrived, they saw a man entering the residence and heard additional gunfire from inside. The Ocean County Regional SWAT Team later entered the home and discovered Allan and Michelle Russell dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

Outside, roughly 50 yards away, officers found Deonna Stewart lying in the street, also fatally shot. Prosecutors say Stewart had chased her down before shooting her, then returned to the house and ultimately took his own life. The couple’s three children, who were inside during the rampage, were safely removed and placed in the care of the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency.

A family and community shattered

Neighbors described being jolted awake by sirens and the sound of helicopters overhead as law enforcement flooded the normally quiet Berkeley Township neighborhood. Many said they were stunned to learn that a triple murder‑suicide had unfolded just doors away.

Authorities say Deonna Stewart had been living at the Fairwood Drive home with her parents and her three children. She and Vaughn Stewart were reportedly no longer living together at the time of the shooting, though the exact circumstances of their relationship and any prior domestic incidents remain under review.

The release of the 911 call has only deepened the emotional impact for those who knew the family—and for viewers who have now heard the grandfather’s desperate pleas for help.

Prior charges under scrutiny

Court records show that in the weeks before the killings, Stewart had faced criminal charges in Union County, including allegations of terroristic threats and simple assault. Those charges had been transferred to the county prosecutor’s office as indictable offenses. Investigators have not publicly confirmed whether those earlier charges were directly connected to the victims in the Berkeley Township case, but the timeline has raised questions about what, if anything, could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

Video: 911 call at the center of the case

You can watch NBC New York’s full segment, which includes portions of the 911 call and additional reporting on the investigation, here: