The deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan
Skillman, Somerset County, New Jersey · September 28, 2014
A county prosecutor ruled a prominent couple's 2014 deaths a murder-suicide, but the state medical examiner later changed the husband's manner of death to undetermined, and in 2022 the state Attorney General's Office opened its own investigation.
Overview
John Sheridan, 72, a former New Jersey transportation commissioner and the chief executive of Cooper Health System, and his wife Joyce, 69, a retired public school teacher, were found dead in the burning master bedroom of their home in Skillman, Somerset County, early on September 28, 2014. Both had been stabbed. In March 2015 the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office announced that the evidence supported the conclusion that John killed Joyce, set the fire and died by suicide. Their four sons rejected the finding, noting that the weapon that wounded their father was never recovered. A detective in the prosecutor's own office later alleged that evidence had been mishandled and destroyed, the governor declined to reappoint the prosecutor, a pathologist hired by the family concluded an intruder was more likely, and in 2017 the state medical examiner changed John's manner of death from suicide to undetermined. In May 2022 the state Attorney General's Office confirmed that it was investigating the deaths. No one has been charged, and in the sources reviewed the office has not announced what it has found.
Where it stands
Officially, the case is open and undetermined. The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office concluded in March 2015 that John Sheridan fatally stabbed his wife, set the fire and committed suicide, citing the nature of the wounds on each person, the fact that the knives, gasoline and matches came from the home, the lack of forced entry, untouched valuables, John's DNA on the gas can and knives, and his reported state of mind. The couple's four sons disputed every step. They pointed out that the weapon that caused their father's wounds was never recovered and that no motive for murder or suicide was ever identified. In 2016 a veteran detective in the prosecutor's own office alleged in a whistleblower suit that evidence had been improperly collected, stored and destroyed, and a forensic pathologist hired by the family swore in an affidavit that an intruder was more likely, while stopping short of calling it a homicide. In 2017 the state medical examiner changed John's manner of death from suicide to undetermined. The development that makes the case feel close came in 2022. After a guilty plea in an unrelated Jersey City murder-for-hire in which a victim was stabbed and his apartment set on fire, the eldest son asked prosecutors to compare a knife reportedly found in the car of one of the men involved, who was arrested in Connecticut the day after the Sheridans died, with the knives from his parents' kitchen; he said he knew of nothing linking that man to his parents. Then the Attorney General's Office told WNYC that it was investigating and would follow the evidence wherever it leads. As of the sources reviewed, there are no charges and no public findings.
Persons of interest
The theories below are reported strictly as attributed to the cited sources. Naming a person here is not an accusation. Individuals are named only where they are deceased, were formally charged, were officially named by authorities, or have been publicly cleared.
- John SheridanDeceased
The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office concluded in March 2015 that John Sheridan fatally stabbed his wife, set the fire and committed suicide. His sons and a pathologist they hired dispute that finding, and in 2017 the state medical examiner changed the manner of his death from suicide to undetermined.[1]
- An unidentified intruderNot publicly named
A forensic pathologist retained by the family wrote in a 2016 affidavit that the evidence was consistent with a person wearing gloves entering through an unlocked door to harm the couple or to commit a burglary that went wrong. He said he could not rule out suicide conclusively. No such person has been identified.[4]
Sources
- Prosecutor rules Sheridan case a murder/suicide; sons slam 'bungled' investigation (March 2015), reprinting the prosecutor's statement
“The evidence in this case supports the conclusion that John Sheridan fatally stabbed Joyce Sheridan, set the fire, and committed suicide.”
- Report: Sheridan deaths were murder-suicide (March 27, 2015)
“The deaths of Cooper Health System executive John Sheridan and his wife, Joyce, were a murder-suicide, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said Friday. The finding appeared to solve a mystery that's persisted since the prominent couple were found dead in their burning bedroom on Sept. 28.”
- Reward offered for information about the Sheridans' deaths (April 2015)
“offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible”
- Expert says intruder likely killed the Sheridans (June 18, 2016)
“stops short of recommending that John Sheridan's death be changed to homicide. Instead, he suggests the manner of death should be changed to undetermined.”
- Detective in Cooper Hospital CEO slaying case: Investigator threw evidence in garbage (May 4, 2016)
“A veteran detective involved in investigating the deaths of a prominent hospital executive and his wife now says the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office botched the probe by mishandling and destroying evidence.”
- The Sheridan brothers have been waiting years for a clue to their parents' brutal deaths (February 2022)
“the state medical examiner amended John's death certificate, changing the manner of death from "suicide" to "undetermined."”
- Dead End, Episode 1: Meet the Sheridans (transcript)
“No one can remember there ever being so much as a burglary on Meadow Run Drive. Local police records show they were only called to the Sheridan house once in 37 years when Joyce fell down and injured her hip.”
- Dead End, Episode 2: Not Your "Typical" Murder Suicide (transcript)
“The call came in just before sunrise on Sunday, September 28th, 2014. On this quiet cul-de-sac, 911 calls were rare.”
- Dead End, Episode 7: Breaking News, "Thou Shalt Pursue" (transcript, May 31, 2022)
“It's official. The Sheridan case is now an open investigation. And for the first time, It will be run by the state's top law enforcement agency.”
- Dead End, Episode 8: Dead End (transcript, June 7, 2022)
“is hopeful that the new state investigation will clear his father's name.”