Kidnapping attempt ends in stabbing, suicide

Middletown teen
hospitalized after
confrontation
BY VINCE ECHAVARIA
Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — A Colts Neck man took his own life after he failed to abduct an ex-girlfriend and instead stabbed her 17-year-old brother at their Lincroft home, police said.

Herbert Bertine, 27, was found dead by township police in the trunk of his father’s red 1992 Honda Accord, after county park rangers discovered the car at Dorbrook Recreation Area, Route 537, Colts Neck, and notified police at about 10 p.m. Aug. 3, Middletown Police Chief John F. Pollinger said.

Police arrived at the park, where they found the car in the parking lot, and concentrated their search efforts in the large wooded areas, he said. They also used tracking dogs from area police departments to obtain scents, and the dogs detected a strong chemical odor coming from the vehicle, he said.

The chloroform odor led police to the trunk of the car, where Bertine’s body was located with a plastic bag over his head at about 11:45 p.m., Pollinger said. It appeared that Bertine had secluded himself in the trunk to kill himself by folding down the rear seat and crawling through, he said. He covered his head with the bag and used a bottle of chloroform, causing him to die of suffocation, he said.

"He had troubled past relationships and problems in his life," Pollinger said.

Area police had been searching for Bertine since earlier the same day, after the Middletown Police Department received a 12:22 p.m. phone call from Brian Paterson, of Oak Street, Lincroft, who said he had been stabbed. Paterson identified the man who stabbed him as Bertine, the ex-boyfriend of his 20-year-old sister, Natalie, and he gave a description to police, Pollinger said.

Paterson was bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds when township Officer Anthony Bagilio arrived, and he was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune. He was released Aug. 8, according to the hospital. Paterson suffered two primary stab wounds — one to the back and a "life-threatening" wound to the chest, Pollinger said.

The description of Bertine’s father’s car was put on a state bulletin, and police searched areas Bertine was known to frequent, including his home on Fairway East, Colts Neck, he said. Members of the township SWAT team searched the house, where a suicide note was found in his bedroom. His blue Toyota GT was impounded at about 6 p.m.

The township police also worked with the Colts Neck Police Depart­ment and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to assist in the search. There was a concern he might harm himself, Pollinger said.

Police narrowed down the vehi­cle Bertine was driving to his fa­ther’s vehicle, and it was later lo­cated at Dorbrook Park, Pollinger said. When Bertine’s body was found, po­lice also discovered a rope, knap­sack, chloroform, a stun gun and two pairs of handcuffs inside the car, he said.

The items have led police to be­lieve that it was Bertine’s intention to abduct Natalie Paterson and possibly her mother, Linda, but the plans were changed when neither was home and only the brother was there, Pollinger said.

"Originally, the arrival was cor­dial and non-confrontational," he said.

When Bertine went to the Pater­son home, Brian invited him in and engaged in casual conversation, but when his back was turned, he heard a noise. The noise was the sound of a stun gun to disable him, and when Paterson rose to his feet, the two men engaged in a "violent struggle," Pollinger said.

Paterson hit Bertine with a lamp in defense, and when the struggle moved to the kitchen, they both grabbed knives. In the knife fight, Bertine received superficial stab wounds, but Paterson was repeat­edly stabbed to his shoulder, leg and neck, along with primary stab wounds to the back and chest, ac­cording to Pollinger.

Paterson was able to get away and barricade himself in a room to call 911. Bertine then fled the scene, he said.

Lincroft first aid and Officer Bagilio re­sponded to treat Paterson until he was rushed to the hospital.

Through his own efforts to defend his life and the quick action of the police, Paterson will make a full recovery, Pollinger said. While he may not have known it, Paterson ultimately thwarted Bertine’s plans toward his sister, but unfortunately became the object of the attack, Pollinger said.

Detective Sgt. Joseph Capriotti said according to Natalie Paterson, she had broken up with Bertine a couple of months ago and had since tried not to have contact with him. She also said that she had never seen a violent side to Bertine, he said.

Bertine, whose intentions for his ex-girlfriend will never be known because of the conflict with her brother, ultimately decided to end his own life, Pollinger added.

"Bertine had a troubled life and trouble with relationships, but it came to a boiling point," Pollinger said. "It’s a troublesome ending to a series of disturbing events."