The parents 34-year-old Michael Mulgrew had planned to take him to seek mental health help on the day he stabbed them to death at the Ocean County home they shared, according to a police report obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Mulgrew’s mother, Cherly Mulgrew, 69, called the Barnegat Police Department and Mobile Psychiatric Emergency Screening Services around 6:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and told them that her son was experiencing mental health isssues, according to the report. She requested PESS respond to evaluate him, the report stated.

By the time they arrived at the home on Lincoln Avenue in Barnegat, Michael Mulgrew had already left on foot, police said. His mother called police shortly after 11 p.m. to let them know Mulgrew had returned home and was calm and she was going to take him to a doctor in the morning.

Police officers were called to house around 11 a.m. the next day by Cheryl Mulgrew, who was again seeking mental health help for her son and they saw Michael Mulgrew walking away, according to a release from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. As officers approached the front door, they noticed it was stained with blood, police said.

Officers found more blood in multiple areas of the home, the prosecutor’s office said.

The bodies of Cheryl Mulgrew and her 71-year-old husband Michael Mulgrew were found in a bedroom, authorities said. A knife was also found near the bedroom.

Michael Mulgrew was later found in the area of West Bay Boulevard and Gunning River Road and taken into custody, authorities said.

While giving his statement, he told detectives that in 2018, he “had an incident of drug-induced psychosis while living in Vietnam” and that he regularly uses drugs, authorities said.

He told police he believed his family was going to hurt him and he left the house the night before the stabbing, authorities said. When he returned, a dispute about chores led to him attacking his parents and then stabbing them with a knife from the kitchen, police said.

He then dragged both of their bodies into their bedroom, packed a backpack and left the home, police said.

Mulgrew is charged with two counts of murder as well as weapons-related offenses and is being held at the Ocean County Jail, the office said.

Editor’s Note: Mental health disorders affect people from all areas of life and all ages, but are treatable. Call Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referral and information.

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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.