New Jersey Supreme Court renders decision regarding witness interviews from Somerset County murder

SOMERVILLE, NJ (Somerset County) – The New Jersey Supreme Court last week dismissed the appeals filed by Cindy and David Keogh as the admissibility of their statements given to police who had been called to investigate a shooting on their property. As a result of that Supreme Court order, the statements given by Cindy and David Keogh will be admissible against them at their future criminal trial, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

On April 26, 2022, Cindy and David Keogh’s son, Ryan D. Keogh, was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose third-degree hindering apprehension or prosecution, third-degree endangering an injured victim, fourth-degree false swearing (4 of 5 counts), fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine following a six week jury trial in Somerset County, McDonald said.

Ryan D. Keogh was acquitted of one of the counts against him – a sole count of fourth-degree false swearing. The Honorable Peter J. Tober, Somerset County Presiding Criminal Judge presided over that trial. The trial began on March 7, 2022, with jury selection and ended with the jury’s return of verdict on April 26, 2022. After the verdict, Keogh was remanded to the Somerset County Jail where he was lodged pending sentencing, McDonald said.

Ryan D. Keogh’s conviction stems from an investigation that began at 7:36 p.m. on January 9, 2019, when the Middlesex Borough Police Department received 9-1-1 call reporting shots fired at a residence on Farm Lane in Bound Brook Borough, McDonald said.

Middlesex Borough authorities relayed the call to Bound Brook Police, who responded and located Terrence C. Coulanges, 29, of Old Bridge, outside the residence with gunshot wounds to the right thigh and left chest. Responding officers, along with medical personnel, initiated life saving measures and subsequently transported the victim to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, N. J. where he was pronounced dead, McDonald said.

Investigators interviewed numerous neighbors who reported hearing what turned out to be gunshots at 5:45 p.m. The investigation determined that Ryan Keogh, along his parents, Cindy and David Keogh, left the residence on Farm Lane for a period of time after Coulanges was shot and before a 9-1-1 call was placed at 7:36 p.m., McDonald said.

After Ryan Keogh shot Coulanges, the police were not notified until 1 hour and 51 minutes had passed. Coulanges was found to have died as the result of gunshot wounds to the chest and thigh. The Medical Examiner found the cause of death to be gunshot wounds and homicide to be the manner of death, McDonald said.

Ryan Keogh was arrested on February 14, 2019 following the investigation, McDonald said.

On the murder charge, Ryan Keogh faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 75 years imprisonment with 85% of the term to be served without parole under the No Early Release Act, McDonald said.

On the charge of possession of firearm for an unlawful purpose, Keogh faced a prison term of 5 – 10 years with a maximum of 5 years to be served without parole. This charge implicates a Graves Act sentence which has a mandatory imposition of parole ineligibility fixed at one-half the sentence imposed by the Court, or 42 months, whichever is greater, McDonald said.

On the hindering one’s own apprehension or prosecution charge, Keogh faced a prison term of 3 – 5 years with up to half the term without parole, McDonald said.

On the charge of endangering an injured victim, Keogh faced a term of 3 – 5 years in prison with up to half the term without parole. The service of the sentence for endangering an injured victim must, under New Jersey Statutes, be served consecutively to the sentence imposed for the murder, the crime that rendered the victim Terrence Coulanges physically helpless. For each of the fourth-degree false swearing counts, he faced a maximum of 18 months in state prison. For the fourth-degree unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine charge, he faced a maximum of 18 months in state prison, McDonald said.

On August 26, 2022, Ryan D. Keogh was sentenced by the Honorable Peter J. Tober, P.J.Cr. for the murder of Terrence Coulanges, and related offense following the guilty verdicts returned by a petit jury on April 26, 2022, McDonald said.

McDonald stated that prior to imposing sentence; Judge Tober denied Keogh’s motion for a judgment of acquittal and for a new trial and sentenced Keogh to the following:

• On count one for first-degree murder, Judge Tober imposed a 50 year term of imprisonment with 85% of the term to be served without parole under the No Early Release Act.
• On count two for possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, Judge Tober merged that count into count one for purposes of sentencing.
• On count three for hindering oneself in the third degree, defendant was sentenced to 5 years in prison concurrent to the term imposed for murder and the other counts.
• On count four for third degree endangering an injured victim, he was given a 3 year term in prison to be served consecutive to the term imposed for murder. This term was consecutive under New Jersey Statutes.
• On counts five, six, eight, nine for fourth-degree false swearing, defendant was sentenced to 18 months in prison concurrent to the sentence imposed for murder and other counts. He was acquitted on false swearing in count seven.
• On count ten for fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, defendant was sentenced to 18 months in prison concurrent to the sentence imposed for murder and other counts.
• On count eleven for fourth-degree possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine, he received a concurrent 18 month sentence.

Judge Tober also ordered the payment of fines, penalties, and restitution.

“The petit jury trial and sentencing of Ryan Keogh, on February 23, 2023, Ryan’s parents, Defendants Cindy and David Keogh, had their own pretrial appeals vacated and dismissed by the New Jersey Supreme Court. That order thus concluded the proceedings concerning the admissibility of statements they gave to police on the night of the shooting. Defendants Cindy Keogh and David Keogh have been charged for providing false statements to authorities and hindering the homicide investigation regarding their son. Defendants Cindy Keogh and David Keogh have been charged and indicted by a Somerset County Grand Jury with 4th degree Hindering – Providing False Information, 4th degree False Swearing Under Oath and 3rd degree Endangering an Injured Victim. Both defendants are pending trial. Previously, their recorded witness statements to police were ruled to be inadmissible by the trial court on the ground that neither Cindy nor David Keogh were provided Miranda warnings before their interviews, McDonald said.

“The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office appealed that ruling and on June 28, 2022, the Superior Court, Appellate Division, reversed the trial court’s order suppressing the statements. The Appellate Division ruled that Cindy and David Keogh were not entitled to Miranda warnings since when they gave their statements to investigators, they were neither in custody nor subjected to an interrogation and, as a result, Miranda’s requirements did not apply to them. Therefore, the Appellate Division ruled that their statements are admissible at trial. Defendants Cindy and David Keogh then filed motions for leave to appeal from that ruling to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which agreed to consider their appeal. Legal briefs were filed by the parties and the Supreme Court heard oral argument concerning the admissibility of Cindy and David Keogh’s statements on January 31, 2023. The New Jersey Supreme Court received written submissions on behalf of the State by Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Paul Heinzel, and oral argument was conducted on behalf of the State by Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Emily Pirro. Among the materials the State submitted to the Supreme Court were transcripts of Cindy and David Keogh’s testimony from their son Ryan’s trial. In that testimony, both Cindy and David Keogh admitted under oath that the accounts they provided to investigators on the night of the shooting were false,” McDonald said.

On February 23, 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued an order stating that after having considered the transcripts of Cindy and David Keogh’s testimony at Ryan’s trial, and after having reviewed the parties’ written submissions and the oral arguments of counsel, the earlier orders granting Cindy and David Keogh’s motions for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court are vacated and defendants’ appeals are dismissed, McDonald said.

Therefore, given the Supreme Court’s dismissal of Cindy and David Keogh’s appeals, the ruling of the Appellate Division stands. Cindy and David Keogh’s statements to investigators the night of the shooting will be admissible as evidence against them at trial, McDonald said.