New Jersey Standoff Ends With Three Dead: The Alleged Man Who Held The Hostages Captive, His Girlfriend And Her Child Dead

New Jersey standoff ends with three dead, but three others safe on Sunday.

Police stormed a New Jersey home early Sunday and fatally shot a registered sex offender who had held his girlfriend's three children hostage, finally making the New Jersey standoff end after 37 hours.

Of the three dead, it includes the mother and one of her sons, authorities told the Associated Press after the New Jersey standoff ends Sunday in Trenton.

Officers initially went to the home Friday afternoon after a relative of 44-year-old Carmelita Stevens said she hadn't spoken to her in weeks and was worried. After a further investigation, authorities then discovered her children hadn't been to school in 12 days.

Police entered the home through a rear door and smelled an odor consistent with that of a decomposing body, Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said at a press conference. The officers also noticed maggots throughout the residence.

They found 38-year-old Gerald Murphy in an upstairs bedroom, and he told them he was armed with a gun and explosives and had three children with him, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini Jr. said during the same press conference. Officers noticed one of the dead victims before they retreated from the second floor, but were able to rescue Stevens' 19-year-old son from the basement.

Murphy was allegedly making threats to the police about killing one of the children. When the police noticed the mind-state of Murphy after 37-hours of the standoff, and everyone was safe, they made their move.

"This was a very complex matter, considering the space (where the hostages were) and that three children were involved," Fuentes said. "Our mission over those 37 hours was to save innocent lives."

Authorities found the bodies of Stevens and her 13-year-old son in separate bedrooms. Stevens' body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and police said she and her son may have been killed two weeks ago, according to the Associated Press.

Three of Stevens' children - an 18-year-old woman, a 16-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy - were rescued and taken to a medical center for evaluation and treatment. Murphy had abused and assaulted the captives, according to the authorities.

Murphy and Stevens had been dating for a few months, and both lived in the house, police said. He was not the father of any of her children.