N.J. Mom Gave Birth 3 Weeks Ago. Then She Was Killed in Front of Her Children: Police

A New Jersey family is in mourning after a 38-year-old mother was allegedly slain by her ex-boyfriend, just weeks after welcoming her fourth child.

Lauren Saldana was found dead in a South Brunswick Township, N.J., home by responding officers on Thursday, Jan. 9, the township police said in a statement last week.

Authorities promptly arrested 41-year-old Roman Romanovskiy in connection with the killing, per the statement.

Romanovskiy was Saldana’s ex-boyfriend, her daughter, Madison Saldana, told News 12. The couple shared two children together.

Lauren’s three other children were aged 19, 15, and 5, per a a GoFundMe set up to assist them. She had just given birth to her fourth child three weeks before her death, per the fundraising appeal.

According to an affidavit cited by NJ.com, Romanovskiy was present when police arrived at the location. He was there with the couple’s 5-year-old, who witnessed the murder, according to the GoFundMe appeal.

“He is now faced with trauma no child should ever have to endure,” read part of the fundraiser.

Authorities have not released a cause of death; the Middlesex County medical examiner’s office could not be reached for comment.

Romanovskiy has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree, and endangering the welfare of a child in the third degree, according to the township police. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has entered pleas or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

“It was not a healthy relationship,” Madison Saldana told News 12. “It was a rollercoaster. They broke up, they tried to stay away from each other, but in the end, she always wanted to be with her son.”

Madison is now seeking custody of her younger siblings, per the GoFundMe and News 12. The family is also seeking to raise awareness of domestic violence, which “played a major role in this devastating tragedy,” reads the fundraising appeal.

“Lauren faced many challenges in her life, but one thing was clear: she loved her children in the best way she knew how and wanted them to have more out of life than she did,” the fundraiser said of the slain new mom. “Lauren was a person.”

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If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.