Joyce Sheridan Death Ruled a Homicide

A Montgomery Township police officer sits in front of the partially burned home of John and Joyce Sheridan early Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, in Montgomery Township, N.J. Authorities say 72-year-old John Sheridan, president of a major southern New Jersey hospital, and his 69-year-old wife were killed when a fire broke out in their home Sunday morning, but the circumstances surrounding the deaths remain under investigation.

No surprise here, but perhaps at least some clarity. Politicker NJ reports: “A death certificate for Joyce Sheridan, the wife of Cooper Health CEO and prominent political figure John Sheridan, was filed in Somerset County Surrogate Court today, listing her death as a ‘homicide.’ Her husband’s certificate, meanwhile, is listed as ‘pending investigation.’”

The Sheridans died following a mysterious fire at their house in September; last week it was revealed that both Sheridans had suffered multiple stab wounds at the time of their deaths.

The death certificates were first revealed by The Inquirer:

The death certificate revealed that Joyce Sheridan was slain. There was no information on the cause of death. She was in cardiac arrest at the scene, according to a computer-aided dispatch report, and was pronounced dead at Princeton Medical Center, authorities said.

“What they’re saying is that her wounds were delivered at the hands of another,” said Glenn Zeitz, a prominent South Jersey lawyer who is not involved in the case. “They’re leaving open that his death could have been a murder or a suicide. This sort of turns everything on its head.”

Prosecutors have publicly said they do not believe the couple’s four sons were responsible for their parents’ deaths.