Police in Old Bridge probe murder, suicide

Police in Old Bridge
probe murder, suicide
Carpenter kills
girlfriend; later turns
gun on self, police say
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI staff Police found Marguerite Citron’s body in an upstairs bedroom. It is believed that John Andrew Shoplock, her compansion, killed himself in the basement days later.

OLD BRIDGE — On Tuesday, six days after he shot himself in the basement of his companion’s Laurence Harbor home, John Andrew Shoplock’s white work truck sits outside under a thin layer of snow.

The van, with a South Carolina license plate on its rear, reads "J&S Installations, Home Improvements, Custom Fireplaces."

In the driveway of the modest two-story Cape Cod at 119 Morningside Ave. is an off-white Ford Taurus that belonged to Shoplock’s companion, Marguerite Citron.

Miniblinds in all of the home’s windows remain closed and a stained-glass picture still hangs in a side window.

On this snowy March day, a female postal worker was making her rounds on the narrow side street, which runs between Route 35 southbound and Valley Avenue.

When asked by a reporter if she knew the now-deceased couple, the postal worker replied she did not and that she had been told by her supervisors to hold Citron’s mail. She said she is aware that Citron was murdered and expressed surprise, saying, "This is such a quiet area."

Authorities believe Shoplock, a self-employed carpenter, fatally shot Citron, his live-in girlfriend, on March 7, although a motive has not been established. It is also unclear why Shoplock turned the gun on himself three days later when Citron’s son came to check on the couple’s home, authorities said.

Shoplock, 52, apparently shot himself in the head in the home’s basement using a 22-caliber rifle shortly after 8 p.m. on March 10, according to Assistant Middlesex County Prose-cutor Nicholas Sewitch.

Citron, 55, the owner of the house, was most likely shot in an upstairs bed­room with the same rifle three days ear­lier, Sewitch said.

Police found Citron’s body in a bed about 8:20 p.m. on March 10, after they received a telephone call from Brian Cit­ron, 31, the victim’s son.

Brian Citron, of South Amboy, had gone to the house about 8 p.m. that night to check on his mother because he had been unable to contact her by telephone for several days despite repeated at­tempts, Sewitch said.

When Citron arrived, he found the house darkened and its doors dead-bolted, something his mother never did, Sewitch said.

Peering through a small windowpane in the front door of the house, Brian Cit­ron saw a lit candle and then noticed Shoplock, whom he knew, inside the house. Shoplock ran to the rear of the home’s interior, and Citron promptly called Old Bridge police, Sewitch said.

When police arrived at 8:20 p.m., Cit­ron and the officers entered the home with an extra key Citron had. Minutes later, police found Marguerite Citron’s body in an upstairs bedroom. Police con­tinued searching the home and subse­quently found Shoplock sitting in a chair in the basement with a bullet wound to his head, Sewitch confirmed.

Authorities pronounced Shoplock dead at 10:35 p.m. Marguerite Citron was pro­nounced dead five minutes later of two gunshot wounds to the head.

Investigators have not been able to de­termine why Shoplock shot Citron, Se­witch said.

Police do not have any reports of do­mestic violence between the couple, who had lived together for six or seven years, he added.

However, authorities do believe that Marguerite Citron probably died some­time on Sunday, based on evidence col­lected at the scene.

Police later learned that Marguerite Citron had last reported to her full-time job as a collections clerk at Mobile Stor­age Containers, South Plainfield, on March 5.

Shoplock had called Citron’s employer on both March 8 and 9, but not on March 10, and reported that Citron was ill and could not come to work, Sewitch said.

The couple was never married to each other nor did they have any children to­gether, Sewitch said. Besides Brian Cit­ron, Sewitch did not know of any sur­vivors for either victim.

A listed telephone number for Brian Citron was found to be disconnected when a reporter tried to reach him for comment.

Citron’s home sits among other simi­lar homes on small lots in the quiet resi­dential neighborhood.

"It’s gotten very quiet around here," said Maryann Cunha, a Morningside Av­enue resident.

The neighbors still cannot fathom what happened to the couple, Cunha said.

"It’s put everyone in shock," Cunha said. "They were both very nice."

Cunha used to see Shoplock every morning when they would be out walking their dogs. The dogs often played to­gether, she said.

"I spoke to him every morning," she said.

The couple did argue occasionally, ac­cording to Cunha. However, it never ap­peared to be more serious than an argu­ment, she added.

The case remains under investigation, Sewitch said. Investigator Christopher Panna from the Middlesex County Prose­cutor’s Office and Old Bridge Detective Richard Tulko are handling the case.