Dive Brief:
- After a six-month investigation, the Somerset County prosecutor's office has concluded that the fire that killed Cooper University Health System CEO John Sheridan and his wife, Joyce, was a murder-suicide.
- It was determined that Joyce Sheridan's cause of death was a stab wound that punctured her aorta; she also had defensive wounds on her hands.
- John Sheridan had superficial self-inflicted wounds but died from the fire, which the prosecutor's office says he started.
Dive Insight:
According to the prosecutor, many possible scenarios were considered, but the evidence points to John Sheridan fatally stabbing his wife, setting the fire and committing suicide. During interviews, some people said John had been withdrawn in the days before the fire. Those close to the family said Joyce had been "worried and upset" because of John's "atypical" behavior.
In a brief statement, Cooper University Health Care said the prosecutor's findings were "unfathomable to us." The statement also said, "We will continue to remember John as a compassionate leader of Cooper who was committed to making positive change in Camden."