Sotheby’s realtor Irma Daniels is beaten to death ‘by stepson John Daniels Jr’ at luxury New Jersey home

A Sotheby’s realtor was beaten to death by her 30-year-old stepson with a baseball bat at her home in an upscale gated community, police say.

Irma Daniels, 48, was bludgeoned to death at her $864,000 home in Cresskill, New Jersey on Wednesday — with police claiming her husband’s son, John Daniels Jr, 30, was behind the attack.

Investigators discovered she died of blunt force trauma and launched an urgent search for her stepson, who authorities say fled the scene after the vicious attack.

After being ambushed on Thursday, Daniels’ first appearance on Friday reportedly saw him collapse and stutter as said before a judge, who ordered him held without bail.

He faces a slew of charges, including first-degree murder, unlawful possession of weapons, and lying to investigators.

John Daniels Jr, 30, reportedly fled the scene after beating his stepmother to death with a baseball bat at their posh New Jersey home on Wednesday. He is pictured with his father, John Daniels Sr, an esteemed lawyer at the law firm of Daniels & Daniels

The Sotheby’s real estate agent was found dead at her gated community home in Cresskill, New Jersey around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday night

Investigators on the scene pictured after Irma Daniels’ body was discovered on the evening of August 16, 2023

Daniels’ LinkedIn profile has him listed as an investment banker, and his social media is littered with shirtless selfies and lavish holiday celebrations. According to police, he was unemployed and unmarried at the time of his stepmother’s murder, and it appears he has been out of a job for more than three years since leaving his father’s law firm.

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said police were on the scene Wednesday night at the gated Stonegate Trail community in Cresskill.

After arriving at their home, they discovered Daniels’ body, where she was determined to have died “of apparent blunt force trauma.”

Police later revealed that she had been beaten to death with a bat, as the suspect’s own father, John Daniels Sr, a lawyer, had identified his son as the alleged killer.

Daniels Sr. is a managing partner at the esteemed law firm of Daniels & Daniels, a nearly century-old practice based in Guttenberg, New Jersey.

In a separate statement, police identified the victim as Irma Daniels, a Russian immigrant who moved to the United States and married Daniels Sr. in 2011.

She had recently traveled to her home country and just hours before her death she shared a poignant Facebook post about how important the visit had been to her.

“Back to my roots,” she said, coupled with images of her scenic homeland.

‘My beautiful motherland with breathtaking Caucasian mountains, ancient culture, heartbreaking history and gracious and noble people. Proud to be Circassian.”

Just hours before she passed away, Irma Daniels shared a poignant Facebook post about her recent trip back to her home country, noting how important the visit had been to her

John Daniels Jr’s Linkedin profile claims he’s an investment banker, but police say he was single and unemployed at the time of his stepmother’s murder

While his stepmother was building a career as a successful real estate agent at Sotheby’s, Daniels Jr. been unemployed for some time.

His last known job was at his father’s law firm, where he worked from 2018 to 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. A year earlier, he had been a marketing manager at Benzel-Busch Motor Car.

Daniels also received an MBA from Boston College Carroll School of Management in May 2022 and graduated from Bergen Catholic High School in 2011 – the same year Irma Daniels emigrated from Russia and married his father.

She had recently celebrated a series of recent successes in her career, including being appointed as a real estate agent at Prominent Properties of Sotheby’s International Realty in Eaglewood Cliffs.

This year, she received the prestigious NJ Realtor’s Silver Circle of Excellence Sales Award, an achievement she says she has been working towards for years.

“I finally did it,” she said online after winning the award in March. ‘After seven years in the real estate sector, I finally received this award.’

“Looking back at the beginning of this new journey for me, I will never forget how difficult the first two years were with no deals, no clients, no guidance or support from the company I started with,” she commented at the time. “I was ready to give up.”

Police say Daniels Jr. fled the scene and was arrested the day after his stepmother was found beaten to death

The social media of John Daniels Jr. are littered with selfies, often shirtless, and pictures of lavish vacations despite his unemployment

Irma was also featured in the May issue of real estate magazine ‘The Neighbors of Closter, Demarest & Haworth’ where she praised her real estate skills.

“Our homes so often evoke personal memories of cherished family experiences that the impending purchase or sale of a home becomes a particularly strenuous undertaking,” said Daniels. Daily voice.

“It ensures that I approach my task with particular sensitivity, care and skill.”