Milford man faces murder charge in stabbing of roommate

MILFORD — City police charged 18-year-old Edouard Risch Oldens with first-degree murder Sunday in connection with the stabbing death of his 50-year-old female roommate.

Court documents stated that the incident took place at a residence in the 400 block of Lakeview Avenue.

Police said they were dispatched to North Church Street at about 12:55 p.m. Sunday, after a report that a male subject — later identified as Mr. Risch Oldens of Milford — was having “mental health issues” and stating that he had killed someone.

Upon further investigation, officers responded to the Lakeview Avenue home, where they found the deceased woman, Rose-Lourdes Gerson Garcon of Milford, police said.

Authorities said Mr. Risch Oldens and Ms. Gerson Garcon resided together in the home, but their relationship has yet to be announced.

Following his arrest, the suspect claimed that he has been hearing voices telling him to harm others since moving to the United States from Haiti in 2023, police added.

“Risch advised the voices have told him to kill or hurt family members in the past but he has left the house to walk or ride his bike to clear his head,” court documents note, adding that, after Sunday’s incident, he walked to a church on North Church Street to tell his grandmother what happened and to call the police.

When officers arrived, and Mr. Risch Oldens was placed in a police vehicle, his grandmother spoke to him, then relayed to authorities that “Risch stated he stabbed her, he killed her,” court documents state.

A butcher-style kitchen knife was found under the Lakeview Avenue home’s bathroom sink, according to the report.

The suspect was taken into custody and charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony. He appeared before Justice of the Peace Court 3, where $680,000 cash-only bail was set.

Mr. Risch Oldens was turned over to the Department of Correction and is scheduled to appear in the Sussex County Court of Common Pleas at a later date for a preliminary hearing.