Essex County Corrections Officer Killed in Newark

Debora Ferreira put aside her corrections officer uniform Saturday night in exchange for a red-and-white-flowered dress with red high heels, according to friends. As Ferreira pulled her black BMW from the driveway of her Robert Place home in Irvington around 10 p.m., her neighbor and friend Nikki told her she looked "beautiful" and waved goodbye.

That was the last time Nikki, who declined to give her last name, talked with Ferreira. Hours later, she'd receive the news that Ferreira, 32, an Essex County corrections officer and mother of a one-year-old daughter, .

"She said she was going out ... and she looked beautiful," said Nikki, as she held back tears. "She was fun-loving ... and would comfort me in life."

Essex County Chief of Detectives Anthony Ambrose said Ferreira was off duty when she was shot in her car near the Maiden Lane and Halsey Street intersection around 2:55 a.m. Sunday. She later died at University Hospital shortly after 3 a.m. As of Sunday night, no arrests had been made.

Ambrose said Ferreira had been a block away at a "social club" on William Street before the shooting, but did not elaborate. He said police do not have a motive.

Nikki said she didn't know Ferreira's plans Saturday night, "All she said was she was going out ... and she was happy."

The social club on William Street appears to be Club Mentors, a Bronze Shields club. Bronze Shields is the African-American police officers' association within the Newark Police Department. Locals on William Street Sunday said the club is the only one on the street and caters to law enforcement officers. Officials have not identified the club.

Records show Ferreira had been employed by the Essex County Corrections Department as an officer since July 2007. Anthony Puglisi, a county spokesman, said Ferreira worked at Essex County Correctional Facility on Doremus Avenue in the city.

Joe Amato, president of the local union that represents Essex County corrections officers, said the department is in "shock" and is sending counselors to the jail for fellow officers. He said the county employs roughly 540 corrections officers.

"She was a very dedicated officer," Amato said. "A good mother. She was the sweetest kid."

Amato said Ferreira had been waiting for results of a promotion test to see if she could become a sergeant.

Acting Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said his department is working with the county's homicide/major crimes task force "to bring closure to this horrific act of violence."

Ferreira is the second female corrections officer shot dead in Newark in less than a month. . The South Brunswick woman was an officer employed at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. Owens' alleged killer and boyfriend, Allen Barron, 21, shot himself hours later at a Greyhound bus station in Virginia.

Ambrose said Essex County Crimestoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information about Ferreira's death. Jim Ryan, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said the organization is offering an additional $10,000.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., who oversees the corrections department, called the incident "a tragic loss for Essex County." "Our sympathies go out to her family," he said.

The scene Sunday morning around 10 a.m. showed little signs of an investigation hours before. A piece of yellow police tape that once cordoned off the streets was tied to a parking lot fence. The Maiden Lane-Halsey Street corner is a desolate area with two parking lots surrounded by commercial buildings.

On Robert Place in Irvington Sunday afternoon, an Essex County Prosecutor's Office van was parked outside Ferreira's house as investigators milled around inside her white duplex.

Tanya Idowu, 26, who lives three houses down from Ferreira, said she saw the corrections officer "dressed nice" Saturday night. She described Ferreira as a "good" neighbor, "She seemed like a nice lady. She didn't talk to too many people, except for (Nikki)."

Nikki said she used to peek through her window every morning when she woke up to see if Ferreira was home, "I did it this morning and she wasn't there."

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-877-847-7432. Ambrose said all calls are confidential.

— Sharon Adarlo contributed to this report.