Days after Malika Whiting and her 13-year-old daughter Jairah Biggs were shot and killed in their Trenton home, police arrested the mother’s ex-boyfriend and charged him with homicide.
Bahin Lynch, 45, faces two counts of first-degree murder, along with weapons-related charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm and being a prohibited person in possession of a weapon in connection with the fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend and her teenage daughter last weekend.
Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey and Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson announced today the arrest.
Lynch, a Trenton resident, is currently held at the Mercer County Correction Center, and prosecutors intend to seek pretrial detention.
The investigation, conducted by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department, began after officers responded to a residence on the 300 block of West State Street around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 12.
At the scene, authorities discovered 40-year-old Malika Whiting on a stairway and her 13-year-old daughter, Jairah Biggs, in a third-floor bedroom—both fatally wounded by gunfire. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The case remains under investigation. Authorities urge anyone with information to contact Mercer County Homicide Task Force Detective Scott Peterson at (609) 649-9218 or Sgt. Roberto Reyes at (609) 256-0997. Tips may also be submitted via email to mchtftips@mercercounty.org.
According to published reports, Lynch was shot by police in 2017, after officers found he had a gun in the waistband of his pants during a stop on the 100 block of Pennington Avenue in Trenton. During that encounter, Lynch struggled with an officer, grabbed his weapon and pointed it at the officer.
Lynch was charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses and resisting arrest for the Nov. 25, 2017, confrontation that ended with his injury.
Prosecutors emphasize that, while charges have been filed, Lynch is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This is a developing story. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.