Sheridan son talks about tense investigation

SKILLMAN – The adult sons of John and Joyce Sheridan, rejecting an official report that their parents died in a murder-suicide, plan to offer a $250,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Mark Sheridan, one of the couple's four sons, disclosed the offer during an hour-long press conference Tuesday. He said details of the offer would be made public later this week.

Sheridan spoke to the media after releasing a letter that challenged the competence and credibility of Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano.

The prosecutor last month issued a report finding John Sheridan, a 72-year-old Cooper Health System executive, had killed his 69-year-old wife and taken his own life in a bizarre incident at the couple's Skillman home in September. The report said John Sheridan, a prominent Republican who served several governors, set a fire in his bedroom during the episode.

At his press conference and in a letter to Soriano, Mark Sheridan asserted the prosecutor's office had overlooked and distorted evidence in its zeal to support an initial theory of murder-suicide.

"I wish that I were in charge of this investigation," said Sheridan, a prominent Newark attorney. "The basics would have been done."

The prosecutor's office declined to comment.

Among other points, Sheridan said he had a "heated debate" with a key investigator outside his parents' home one week after the deaths. He said that occurred after Capt. Lee Niles, who oversees forensics for the prosecutor's office, defended a decision to look for fingerprints or blood evidence only in the couple's bedroom.

"We pretty much had a screaming match in the front yard, at which point in time it was suggested I leave," said Sheridan.

That was the start of what Sheridan called an "adversarial relationship" between the family and the prosecutor's office.

Sheridan also addressed the personal toll of his family's dispute with the prosecutor's office.

"It's excruciating," he said. "I had a huge amount of faith in the system. I can tell you I no longer have that faith."

Sheridan, who served as general counsel to the state Republican committee, added he would oppose a renomination of Soriano, whose term as prosecutor expires later this year.

"If you're not a family with resources, education and the wherewithal to fight…I'm not sure how you get a fair shake."

The brothers' letter to Soriano was accompanied by multiple documents tied to the probe, including autopsy reports and blood-test results.



The letter claimed the prosecutor's office "committed" to a murder-suicide theory within days of the deaths when it announced there was no risk to the public.

"The fact that it took no less than three attempts for your office to convince the medical examiner to conclude murder-suicide demonstrates that the proper conclusion has not been reached,"" Mark Sheridan wrote.

According to the letter, Soriano told the sons on Oct. 1 that their mother had been fatally stabbed. Soriano said John Sheridan had been stabbed and had "severe charring to his right hand and arm," but that his cause of death remained unknown.

The brothers asserted investigators had "ignored, or worse, mischaracterized" evidence that did not fit their preferred theory.

"Your murder-suicide conclusion cannot withstand scrutiny," insisted Mark Sheridan, whose family retained a pathologist to conduct a second autopsy on John Sheridan. That autopsy found a fatal wound to the father's jugular vein and determined investigators had not recovered the weapon responsible for the injury.

Investigators have been unable to account for the weapon that caused John Sheridan's death, said Mark Sheridan. Among other shortcoming, he said investigators also had overlooked a bag of jewelry in a closet and had failed to recognize the potential significance of a fireplace poker found in the room.

He also said family members alerted investigators to a piece of melted metal that was found during a second search of the crime scene. And Sheridan disputed the prosecutor's view that DNA evidence incriminated his father, saying test results were inconclusive.

Sheridan also disputed the suggestion that his father had been upset in the days before the deaths due to an unfavorable state report about cardiac care at Camden-based Cooper.

"They needed something to hook onto," he said, noting his father had shopped for food and clothing and had decorated for Halloween a day or two before the deaths.

He noted Sheridan's contract at Cooper was to expire in June 2015.

"I know he and I talked about other opportunities, if he didn't stay at Cooper," the son said. "It was kind of a toss-up whether he would stay or go."

He also noted Sheridan's contract at Cooper was to expire in June 2015.

I know he and I talked about other opportunities, if he didn't stay at Cooper," the son said. "It was kind of a toss-up whether he would stay or go."

A Cooper representative said Sheridan announced in 2013 that he planned to retire in 2015. "As far as we know, there was no further discussion with the board (of trustees about extending it," said spokeswoman Lori Shaffer.

Sheridan served as Cooper's president and CEO since February 2008. He joined the health system in July 2005 as senior executive vice president. Among other accomplishments, he oversaw construction and expansion of the $220 million Roberts Pavilion, helped create a Camden-based medical school and built a partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center.



The Sheridan sons first objected to Soriano's report on the day of its release, saying they plan to challenge its findings in court.



The lawsuit, to be filed next week, will ask a judge to amend John Sheridan's death certificate, changing the manner of death from suicide to "undetermined."

Reach Jim Walsh at jwalsh@courierpostonline.com or (856) 486-2646. Tweet him @jimwalsh_cp

PHOTO GALLERY: SHERIDANS' PROMINENCE IN SOUTH JERSEY