In Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, a 60-year-old man is accused of brutally murdering his 87-year-old father on Sunday, December 10, 2023.
The accused, David Allen Hagal is being held at Bergen County Jail without bail, facing charges including murder.
On early Sunday morning, the suspect arrived at the Franklin Lake Police Department and confessed to the murder of his father, George J. Hagal, at their home on Haddon Place.
Responding officers discovered the elder Hagal’s body at the house. The police statement indicated that David Hagal admitted to multiple methods of assault, including bludgeoning his father with a metal pipe, stabbing him with a kitchen knife, and drowning him in a bucket of water.
These details were later confirmed through a search warrant, where law enforcement found both the pipe and knife suspected of being used in the crime, stained with blood, in the upstairs bathroom of the home.
The authorities have not suggested a clear motive for the crime. However, they described the defendant as a potential danger to himself, noting his exhibited suicidal behavior or threats of self-injury during or prior to the incident.
George Hagal, the victim, led a life marked by service and community involvement. He served four years in the U.S. Marines before embarking on a 12-year career as a police officer in Teaneck, New Jersey.
He was also a past president of the Police Benevolent Association Local 86 and was actively involved in local Boy Scouts and Little League organizations.
After retiring from the police force, he worked as the vice president of a local wholesale food dealer, originally known as Carl Mellone & Son, and currently Mellone Wholesale Produce of Hackensack.
The family had been residing in the Haddon Place home since 1978.
The loss of George Hagal comes just months after the passing of his wife, Elaine Hagal, at 84. The couple had been married for 63 years.