Patricia Polera was killed at her home that she shared with her 30-year-old son Saturday, according to police.
OLD BRIDGE -- As Jeff Cross tinkered with his Christmas lights Saturday afternoon, he glanced over to see his 61-year-old neighbor Patricia Polera quietly reading in her home.
Hours later, the Old Bridge neighborhood was awash in police lights and the street full of emergency vehicles.
Polera was found dead inside her home shortly before 9 p.m. Her 30-year-old son Frank Polera was charged with her killing the next day after an autopsy ruled her death a homicide by asphyxiation.
"It's a shock," Cross told NJ Advance Media Monday, who recalled Patricia Polera's welcoming and kindness when he moved into the duplex adjoining her home over the summer with wife, aunt and uncle.
"She invited us in," Cross's aunt, Barbara Bernett said. "She was lovely. It was just really sweet of her."
Cross and Bernett said they never met any of Polera's three sons. Frank Polera was living with his mother at the time of the killing, according to police.
Cross said he had only really spoken with Polera a few times since they moved in next door, though often exchanged pleasantries over the narrow patch of grass that separates their driveways as they left for work in the mornings.
Polera had worked at Newark Liberty International Airport as a customer service supervisor for United Airlines. She lived in the neighborhood on the border of Matawan for nearly two decades.
In a statement Tuesday, United Airlines spokesman Charles Hobart said, "The thoughts and prayers of the entire United family are with Patricia's family."
One of Polera's co-workers at Untied, Luciana Moreira, said in a message to NJ Advance Media agents at Newark airport "are in total shock."
"Pat was loved by everyone," she said. "She will be missed."
Other neighbors on Kirschman Drive said the small neighborhood is typically very quiet.
"They kept to themselves," said Eileen DeSousa, who lives across the street. "It's horrible. Never a sound from them."
DeSousa said she didn't even hear the police cars pull up Saturday evening. The police left the neighborhood around midday Monday, DeSousa said.
Polera was raised in Valley Stream in New York and moved to New Jersey in 1984, according to her obituary. She moved to her home in Old Bridge, which has a Matawan mailing address, in 1998.
Her funeral has been set for Friday at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Union Beach. Visitations will be held at Shore Point Funeral Home and Cremation Services on Thursday and Friday.
Frank Polera's bail has been set at $500,000, with no 10 percent option, an official at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center said.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's office and the Old Bridge Police Department are investigating the incident.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.