New Jersey mother, son dead in ‘murder-suicide’ apartment blaze, police say

A New Jersey mother in the middle of a custody dispute shut herself and her 3-year-old son inside a bedroom of their Scotch Plains home and lit the room on fire, killing them both, authorities say. Katherine Halverson, 32, and her son, Jeremy Scott McDonald Jr., were found inside the charred room late Tuesday, shortly after neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the house. The family’s dog was also found dead, police say. The deaths at first appeared to be an accident, but authorities confirmed Thursday they were investigating the blaze as a murder-suicide.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/n-mother-son-dead-murder-suicide-article-1.1224738