By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has been providing the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office help with the investigation into the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan’s “for several weeks,” according to the attorney general’s office director, Elie Honig.
Although the attorney general’s office is providing assistance in the form of additional manpower and expertise, the prosecutor’s office is still the lead agency in the investigation, according to Mr. Honig.
“The case is very complex,” Mr. Honig said. “We offered our assistance and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office accepted.” He said the attorney general’s office would not release further details regarding the investigation at this time.
John Sheridan, 72, died at home while his wife, 69, died at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro after a fire broke out in the bedroom of their home in the Skillman section of Montgomery before 6 a.m. on Sept. 28.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that the fire was intentionally set but has yet to reveal how Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan died.
Information regarding the investigation has been leaking out slowly over the past two months.
In recent days and weeks, various media outlets, without citing specific sources have been reporting the couple was murdered by stabbing, something the proscutor’s office has not confirmed. In one case the information was attributed to a family member.
Mr. Sheridan was the president and CEO of the Cooper Health System at the time of his death. Ms. Sheridan was a history teacher in the Cedar Grove and South Brunswick public school systems for more than 15 years before she retired. Last week, the prosecutor’s office confirmed that a son who lived with John and Joyce Sheridan was arrested in town on the day that his parents died.
Matthew Sheridan, 40, of Montgomery, allegedly had cocaine and drug paraphernalia in his vehicle and the prosecutor’s office reported he was arrested at 3 p.m. on Sept. 28. No charges have been filed against him, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Thomas Wilson, a spokesperson for the family, said, “It is entirely unrelated to the investigation of the death of Joyce and John Sheridan and the family will have nothing more to say on the matter.”
In October, Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano released a statement, which said the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office is “very confident that the four sons of John and Joyce Sheridan played no role in the death of their mother and father.”
Earlier this month, the sons hired nationally known pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to help them understand the information obtained from the forensic investigation, according to Mr. Wilson.
Dr. Baden is a physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths. He recently conducted the autopsy of Michael Brown.
