Hudson County officer gunned down girlfriend and friend, cops say

A Hudson County corrections officer was charged with killing his girlfriend and her friend. The victims were found shot Tuesday night in separate locations in Newark, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II.

Police first found the body of Anna Shpilberg, 40, of Randolph, about 9 p.m. in the passenger seat of her car at Edison Place and Bruen Street near Newark Penn Station.

Police soon learned that the body of Luiza Shinkarevskaya, 40, of Riverdale, was on the sidewalk on the 100 block of Haynes Avenue near Newark Liberty International Airport.

Shpilberg was dating John Menendez, 24, of West New York, who was charged with two counts of murder and weapons offenses. Shinkarevskaya was a friend of Shpilberg.

Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, would not say Wednesday whether investigators knew of a motive or had more details about how the killings unfolded.

A LinkedIn page for an Anna Shpilberg said she is a dental hygienist for Manor Dental on Staten Island.

New Jersey 101.5 did not know Wednesday whether Menendez had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story should have said that the suspect was described as being in a relationship with one of the victims, Anna Shpilberg.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ