By James DeWeese
Police found Finbarr Mahon, a 13-year veteran of the force, and his girlfriend, Aurelia Morales, 51, a fourth-grade teacher at an East Harlem mini-school, dead on their bedroom floor Monday shortly after 10 a.m., authorities said.Police made the gruesome discovery inside the apartment the couple shared at 55-05 Woodside Ave. after Mahon, 38, failed to show up for work at the NYPD firing range in the Bronx where he was a weapons instructor, a spokesman said.Investigators found Mahon's .38-caliber revolver next to his body, but a spokesman said it was still unclear if it was the gun involved in the shooting. Although a police spokesman said the department had yet to officially classify the deaths as either a murder-suicide or homicide, investigators found a crumpled piece of paper containing a journal entry in which Mahon said he was depressed after falling for another woman., a law enforcement source said.”He was torn because he had two girlfriends,” the source said.Mahon was not the subject of any departmental investigation and there had been no indication of any emotional problems, a spokesman said.Most neighbors said they last saw the couple Friday, and police said it was unclear when the pair died. The medical examiner's office was to determine the exact cause and time of death. “No one can tell you what the hell happened,” said next door neighbor Bob Thompson, 71. “He's a cop. She's a teacher. Very nice people. How did something like this happen?”Thompson, a retired systems analyst, said he did not hear any gunshots and never saw the couple argue.Ted Alvarez, who lives next to Thompson, described Mahon and Morales as a happy couple who were often seen holding hands and walking their dog, Alex, in Doughboy Park across the street.”They're a very quiet couple,” Alvarez said. “I saw them last Friday. They were going to dinner. We were going to dinner. We walked out together. They seemed happy.”As word of the tragedy spread Monday, a steady stream of Police Department colleagues entered the apartment building to pay their respects to Mahon's mother, who lives in the same complex.”They were a very nice, very quiet couple,” said building superintendent Sam Neljkovic, 36. “They always went out together. We were all shocked this morning when we heard what happened.”A spokeswoman for the city Department of Education said grief counselors would be on hand at the Bilingual Bicultural Mini-School on 109th Street in East Harlem where Morales worked as long as they were needed.Reach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
