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Linden VFW building destroyed by fire

The Linden VFW building at 20 Pennsylvania Railroad Avenue was destroyed Sunday in a 2-alarm fire. A GoFundMe.com page has been created to help rebuild the city landmark.

~Courtesy of John Roman, MyCentralJersey.com

BOUND BROOK - A state appellate court has ruled that statements made by the parents of a borough man convicted of murdering an Old Bridge man can be admitted as evidence against them on charges they gave false information to police.

In an 18-page ruling Tuesday, the appellate court reversed a Superior Court decision saying that the statements made by David and Cindy Keogh to police on the night that Terrence C. Coulanges was shot by their son Ryan at their home on Farm Lane could not be used against them because they had not been given their Miranda rights against self-incrimination.

Mr. and Mrs, Keogh are facing charges of making false statements to police, hindering apprehension and endangering an injured victim.

In April their son was found guilty of murder in the 2019 incident. He also was found guilty of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose; hindering apprehension or prosecution;endangering an injured victim;four counts of false swearing;tampering with physical evidenceand unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine.

The investigation beganat 7:36 p.m.Jan.9, 2019, when the Middlesex Borough Police Department received a 911 call reporting shots firedat aFarm Lane home in Bound Brook.

Bound Brook Police went to the scene and foundCoulanges outside the homewith gunshot wounds to the right thigh and left chest.

Police and medical personnelstartedlifesaving measures.Coulanges wastakento Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswickwhere he was pronounced dead.

An investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigation Unit and Bound Brook detectives found neighbors who said they heard gunshots about 5:45 p.m. that day.

The investigation found thatKeogh, along with his mother, then left the home and went to his father's office in Green Brook. A911 call was placed at 7:36 p.m., an hour and 51 minutes afterCoulanges was shot.

Keough had maintained that he shotCoulanges in self-defense. His lawyers argued that Coulanges came to the house where he was not wanted,a struggle ensued, and he was shot by Keogh.

As police were securing the house and the crime scene, the Keoghs stayed at the end of the driveway. A Middlesex Borough police officer who had responded to the scene told the Keoghs to refrain from talking to each other, court papers say.

The Keoghs were then taken to Bound Brook Police Headquarters in three separate police vehicles to give statements. A detective from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office interviewed each Keogh separately in the company of other detectives. The Keoghs were separated from each other with the father and son in interview rooms and the mother in the lobby.

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The parents gave their statements and they waited in the lobby until the interview with their son ended about four hours later. They were then escorted back home to collect some things because they were not allowed to stay because the scene was still being processed.

After more investigation, the son was charged with murder on Feb. 13, 2019, and his parents were charged the following day.

The parents' lawyer filed a motion to suppress the statements they had given to police because they were not administered their Miranda rights. The prosecutor's office argued that they were "treated as witnesses and not suspects," but a Superior Court judge disagreed and said they should have been given their rights because they did not feel "free to leave" police headquarters.

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The appellate court disagreed with the judge's ruling, saying that the parents were told they could leave police headquarters after giving their statements but chose to remain until after their son gave his statement. The appellate court ruled that the parents were not subjected to "custodial interrogation" so they did not need to have their Miranda warnings given to them.

The prosecutor's office is charging that the parents gave false statements to the police about the night of the killing.

According to the prosecutor's office, video from a neighbor's security camera and tracking of all three Keoghs' cellphones revealed that their statements to police were false.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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Court rules Bound Brook parents' statements can be used against them in trial - My Central Jersey