Slain Rockaway doctor remembered as family man; son in custody charged with his killing
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP — Mark Quadrel was well known in the Morris County area, not only as a family doctor, but as a family man very much involved in the lives of his three sons, all graduates of Morris Knolls High School.
The doctor, who was most recently assistant professor at Rutgers University’s medical school, had photos of his boys hung in his private medical office in Mine Hill before he closed it two years ago. He was also the official doctor for his son Steven’s high school football team.
On Oct. 24, Mark Quadrel, 61, was shot to death and his son Steven charged with murder.
People who knew them both expressed grief and shock. Those who knew the father and 24-year-old son said as far as they knew, they had a good relationship and the Quadrels were a loving family.
On Oct. 24, the older Quadrel went to his son’s apartment in Norristown, Pennsylvania, said police. After an apparent argument, police said the son left the apartment, went to his truck where he retrieved a gun, returned to the apartment and shot his father in the back and head.
On Friday, Mark Quadrel was laid to rest following a funeral attended by family and friends at St. Clement Pope & Martyr Church in Dover.
“It’s a tragedy. He was a nice fellow who was very into local sports,” said Rockaway Township Police Chief Martin McParland about Mark Quadrel.
Mark Quadrel
“He was one of the most remarkable men I have ever known,” said Regina Littel Koeppel, a nurse who worked with Mark Quadrel in the emergency room at University Hospital in Newark.
“I worked as an emergency nurse specialist at UMDNJ for 20 years alongside Mark. I feel as I lost a brother,” Littel Koeppel said.
They remained friends after he left the hospital to open his own practice in Mine Hill, where she became his patient and said she “referred everyone she knew to him.”
Littel Koeppel said she also knew his son, Steven, whom she called “a great kid.”
Mark Qadrel, who moved to Caldwell in August, was married to Wanda Quadrel, who passed away suddenly at age 57 in 2016, according to her obituary.
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Jim Carroll, a childhood friend of Mark Quadrel, echoed Littel Koeppel’s comments.
“We got to know each other through football and other recreation activities, and became better friends when we all went to West Essex,” Carroll said referring to the North Caldwell high school.
The two first met during seventh grade and remained friends through their marriages and the births of their oldest children.
Recent social media posts about Mark Quadrel reflect his good personality, Carroll said. “Everybody thought Mark was a good and caring person who they were happy that they had known.”
Carroll said Mark Quadrel really missed his late wife. The doctor’s recent Facebook posts were dedicated to her and that he “deeply missed” her.
“Wanda and I would have been married 34 years today. I sure do miss my soulmate. Wanda I know you can hear me. Happy Anniversary, I Love You!!,” was the last public post Mark Quadrel added to Facebook in 2016, the same year he closed his private practice and accepted a position as assistant professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Rutgers University’s Dean Robert Johnson, said the community was “deeply saddened to learn about Dr. Mark Quadrel’s untimely death.”
Teaching there brought things full circle for Mark Quadrel, as he completed his residency in internal medicine there in 1987.
“He has been a dedicated, caring physician to thousands of patients and a respected faculty member. His passing is a significant loss to our medical school. We extend our deepest sympathy to Mark’s family, friends, colleagues, patients, and all those whose lives he touched,” Johnson said.
According to the Rutgers University’s Medical School website, Quadrel’s specialty was internal medicine with a medical degree from Universidad del Noreste, Tampico, Mexico in 1983. He completed his internship at UMDNJ University Hospital, Newark in 1985 and his residency there in 1987.
Steven Quadrel
Steven Quadrel was arrested and charged with first degree murder. He is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility until a Nov. 9 preliminary hearing.
Police said after he shot his father in the back and head, Steven Quadrel fled the scene, and on the way out, shot and wounded a 12-year-old boy on a scooter who “creeped” him out, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office in Pennsylvania.
The suspect told police he emptied “four or five clips” from his pistol at his father inside his Norristown, Pennsylvania, apartment where the two argued, according to prosecutors.
Police found 23 cartridge casings and eight projectiles at the scene, records show.
McParland said Steven Quadrel had no criminal history in Rockaway Township and Kate Delano with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania he was “not on their radar” and he had no criminal record there either.
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“He appeared to be a normal kid from what I remember,” said Rockaway Township resident Philip Lazaro.
Lazaro had a friend in common with the younger Quadrel and said they sometimes hung out together. He described Steven Quadrel, who was on his son’s football and wrestling teams, as sometimes cheery and sometimes quiet.
Kevin Jones was Steven Quadrel’s history teacher at Morris Knolls High School and kept in touch with him after that.
“I know he lived in a dangerous neighborhood and when I encouraged him to look elsewhere, he was resistant to the idea,” said Jones, of the Pennsylvania address.
Steven Quadrel’s family did not wish to comment for this story.
Staff Writer William Westhoven contributed to this story.
Email: myers@northjersey.com
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