MONTGOMERY — Nearly six months after John and Joyce Sheridan died under mysterious circumstances at their Skillman home, the case has been ruled a murder-suicide.

John Sheridan, CEO of Cooper Health System and a major political figure who had been part of Gov. Chris Christie's transition team, stabbed his wife multiple times in the face and chest, then poured gasoline throughout their bedroom and set the room on fire, according to a report by Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano. Joyce Sheridan was dead before the fire started, officials said.

John Sheridan then stabbed himself and died in the burning bedroom, according to the prosecutor's report.

Somerset County authorities say they turned up evidence John Sheridan had been unusually distraught in the days leading up to the deaths -- enough so that it troubled friends and family members.

Were Sheridan deaths a murder-suicide? Family still has questions

The Sheridans' four sons in a joint announcement rejected the finding, calling it "nothing more than an expedient way for the (Somerset County) Prosecutor's Office to close its file and put an end to its embarrassing bungling of this murder investigation in the hope that our family, the citizens of Somerset County and the press will stop inquiring about what actually happened."

Members of the family said they would file a lawsuit challenging the conclusion of the investigation.

Soriano, Somerset County Chief of County Detectives Timothy M. Fitzgerald and Montgomery Township Police Captain/Director Robert E. Palmer made the announcement Friday, shedding light on an investigation about which they had collectively kept nearly silent for half a year. The ruling that John Sheridan had killed his wife and then committed suicide was included in the final report of the Northern Regional Medical Examiner Office, which was issued Thursday.



It's the first time authorities have made any statement on John Sheridan's death -- though last month the state Attorney General confirmed Joyce Sheridan was killed by a stab wound to her chest that tore her aorta.

Findings from authorities

According to the announcement from authorities, when police officers -- among the several agencies that responded to a report of a house fire -- came to the Sheridans' home on Sept. 28 at 6:13 a.m., they were unable to ascend the main staircase because of heavy smoke. They shouted to anyone who may have been home, and no one answered, it said. (See full announcement below.)

They ultimately found John Sheridan in the bedroom, lying on the floor, face-up at the foot of his bed, with the top portion of a two-piece armoire on his body, the announcement said. I t was later found to have been badly damaged, with the lower portion charred and essentially destroyed, the authorities said.

Firefighters removed John Sheridan from the residence and found Joyce Sheridan lying face up on the floor and to the left of the bed, the authorities said. She was removed from the residence, and both were pronounced dead shortly after.

Autopsies were performed on John and Joyce Sheridan at the Northern Regional Medical Examiner Office on Sept. 29 and 30, the authorities said. Joyce Sheridan had suffered eight wounds to her head -- five incised wounds and three stab wounds, the authorities said. She also suffered from a stab wound to her chest that perforated her aorta, they said.

Joyce Sheridan also had three incised wounds to her hands that the assistant medical examiner characterized as defensive in nature, according to the announcement. Her cause of death was determined to be a stab wound to the chest that tore her aorta.

John Sheridan's wounds

John Sheridan had five superficial wounds to his torso and neck area -- two incised wounds and three stab wounds, the authorities said. The assistant medical examiner determined the wounds were likely self-infliction.

One of those wound to the neck, however, "caused a small perforation to the right jugular vein and would be fatal without medical treatment," the announcement said.

There were no defensive wounds noted on John Sheridan's body, according to the announcement.

John Sheridan also suffered five broken ribs -- 2 on the left side and 3 on the right side -- which were consistent with an armoire falling on him, it said.

Unlike his wife, John Sheridan had an elevated level of carbon monoxide in his blood and soot in his larynx, indicating that he was alive when the fire started, authorities said.

The weapon

Detectives recovered a large carving-type knife from the bed in the master bedroom, the authorities said. The AME found Joyce Sheridan's wounds, most notably the chest wound, were consistent with that knife, and DNA testing confirmed her blood was on it, authorities said.

A large serrated bread knife was also recovered on the bed, but none of the stab wounds could be attributed to that knife, the announcement said. DNA "consistent with that of John Sheridan" was found on the handle and blade, authorities said. Both knives were from a set in the Sheridans' kitchen, the announcement said.

Officials said they ruled out robbery because they found valuables throughout the master bedroom undisturbed, and Joyce Sheridan was still wearing her jewelry. Detectives also found in the bedroom six folds of cash amounting to $950.00, John Sheridan's wallet, wristwatch and cell phone, all undisturbed, on a night stand, the authorities said.

"There was no evidence indicating that any area of the residence was disturbed by anyone other than first responders," the authorities wrote in Friday's announcement.

No one else in, or near the home

Police canvasses didn't turn up any reports of unidentified people or vehicles in the area, tue authorities said.

As previously reported by NJ Advance Media, the Sheridans' sons hired their own investigator -- pathologist Michael Baden. On Oct. 4, he performed a second autopsy, and both he and the medical examiner said neither of the two recovered weapons caused any of John Sheridan's wounds.

The next day, authorities returned to the home, but still didn't find any other knife or implement that might have caused John Sheridan's wounds, authorities said. But a piece of resolidified metal, which had melted during the course of the fire, was recovered.

On the day of the fire, it had been photographed embedded in the hardwood floor close to John Sheridan's body, the authorities said.

New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences Laboratory assisted with an analysis and a private materials testing laboratory tested it and found it was made mostly of zinc with very small percentages of aluminum and copper -- but its original shape and purpose couldn't be identified, the authorities said.

The investigation

Authorities conducted more than 180 interviews with potential witnesses -- including family members, friends neighbors, and coworkers -- of medical, financial and other records didn't turn up any evidence that pointed to a reason for their deaths.

But family members and colleagues said John Sheridan seemed "out of character", "very upset", "withdrawn", and with "an attitude of resignation," apparently over work issues, the authorities said.

"The predominant source of his preoccupation appears to have been work related. John Sheridan was scheduled to meet with a group of his co-workers on the afternoon of Sunday, September 28, 2014. With regard to work related issues, family members and colleagues characterized John Sheridan as 'disproportionately concerned,' 'genuinely worried' and 'overly worried,'" the authorities wrote in Friday's announcement. "To many, the level of concern which John Sheridan was exhibiting was categorized as unwarranted."

They continued:

"To those closest to John Sheridan and Joyce Sheridan, it was apparent that Joyce Sheridan was worried and upset because she, too, recognized that John Sheridan was exhibiting levels of apprehension atypical to his usual calm and deliberative demeanor. Based upon accounts of his behavior during the time period immediately preceding Sept. 28, 2014, it is evident that John Sheridan was acting materially differently than his norm. "

Cooper Health System, in a statement released late Friday, didn't address what sort of work John Sheridan was doing in the days leading up to his death.

"Our hearts are with the Sheridan family at this difficult time. Although the findings about his death and the death of Joyce are unfathomable to us, we will continue to remember John as a compassionate leader of Cooper who was committed to making positive change in Camden," it said.

A skeptical family

The sons, questioning those findings, noted authorities didn't explain "that the weapon used to stab our father was never recovered."

Further, they said:

Hours prior to the announcement from Somerset authorities, Joyce Sheridan's brother, Peter Mitchko, said he had come to believe authorities would rule the case a murder-suicide. But it had been months since he had heard any update from the Sheridans' sons, or from Baden.

"The prosecutor's office is claiming there's no evidence there was a third or fourth person in the room," he said. "The real question is how they botched the investigation to not find a third or fourth person. Have they identified what was used for all of the wounds on my sister and brother-in-law?"

According to Mitchko, the medical examiner didn't notice the wound to John Sheridan's neck until Baden pointed it out.

"What kind of a job is being done here? There's a lot of dots to connect here," he said. "My belief, and I'm sure everyone in the family believes this, is that this was not a murder-suicide. In all of this time, no one has come forward with any discussion of Joyce and John having any kinds of a problem that would lead to that. There's no motive. It's just beyond us all."

The family's concerns, the prosecutor said, does not alter his office's belief about what happened to John and Joyce Sheridan.

"We stand confidently behind the results of this investigation, which was completed in a very methodical and comprehensive fashion by a number enforcement agencies, including our State Medical Examiner's Office," he said.

Theodore Romankow, a former Union County prosecutor who'd attended school with John Sheridan, called the conclusion of a murder-suicide a "stunning development to a horrendous crime.

"Knowing John Sheridan as I did it's hard to believe that he killed his wife. That said I found the findings of the Somerset County prosecutors office clear, cogent and well reasoned as to the circumstances of that night," he said.

-- Justin Zaremba and Dave Hutchinson contributed to this report

SHERIDAN INVESTIGATION REPORT

Louis C. Hochman may be reached at lhochman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LouisCHochman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.