Hudson Co. Man Charged With Murdering Girlfriend: Prosecutor

WEEHAWKEN, NJ — A 22-year-old Weehawken man was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Saturday, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Joseph Palacios was arrested just before 10 p.m., after police found him barricaded in a family member's apartment at 33rd Street in Union City, threatening to harm himself, authorities said.

He faces charges of first-degree murder and possession of a weapon, a knife, for unlawful purposes.

Earlier that day the Weehawken Police Department found Palacios's 24-year-old girlfriend, Michelle Paola Castillo Siguencia, dead in the bathroom of an apartment on Hudson Avenue, according to officials.

She was officially pronounced dead at 6:48 p.m., but the cause and manner of death are still to be determined by the Regional Medical Examiner.

Police received reports that Palacios, who was at the time a suspect, had barricaded himself in an apartment in Union City, prompting a call to the Hudson County Regional SWAT. After he was taken into custody, Palacios was brought to the Jersey City Medical Center for self-inflicted wounds.