Ventnor woman charged in double homicide to appear in court Wednesday

Heather Barbera, 42, is slated to appear for a post-indictment arraignment before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr.

A grand jury handed down a superseding indictment on Oct. 3 that includes two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree murder during the commission of a crime, three counts of first-degree armed robbery, one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of third-degree credit card theft, court records show.

She was first indicted Oct. 17, 2018, on two counts of first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and first-degree robbery by inflicting bodily injury.

Conviction of a first-degree crime carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege Barbera beat Elaine Rosen, 87, and Rosen’s daughter, Michelle Gordon, 67, to death before robbing them July 8, 2018, inside a condominium at the Vassar Square Arms complex in Ventnor.

For both victims, the cause of death was multiple blunt-impact injuries and the manner of death was homicide, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said at the time.

Barbera was arrested by New York City police July 11, 2018, at the Midtown Manhattan Port Authority and was held in the Rose M. Singer women’s facility on Rikers Island before she was extradited to Atlantic County the following month.

A case review is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 31, followed by a Nov. 12 start date for her trial.