John Sheridan, 72, was a respected Republican political figure who served as New Jersey’s transportation commissioner under Governor Thomas Kean and later became CEO of Cooper University Health Care. His wife, Joyce, 69, was a retired high school history teacher known for her dedication to students and her outspoken personality. The couple had been married for 47 years and raised four sons—Mark, Matt, Dan, and Tim—in their Skillman, New Jersey, home.
Emergency responders arrived at the Sheridan residence around 6:15 a.m. on September 28, 2014, after reports of a fire. Inside the master bedroom, they discovered the bodies of John and Joyce. Joyce had been stabbed multiple times, including a fatal wound to her aorta, and John had several stab wounds, one of which pierced his jugular vein. His body was found beneath a toppled armoire, and both bodies exhibited signs of smoke inhalation, indicating they were alive when the fire started.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office concluded that John had killed Joyce, set the fire, and then committed suicide. They cited the lack of forced entry, valuables left untouched, and John’s purported anxiety over an upcoming state report on hospital issues as supporting evidence.
The Sheridan sons vehemently disputed the murder-suicide ruling. They hired Dr. Michael Baden, a renowned forensic pathologist, to conduct an independent autopsy. Baden found that the knife wounds on John were inconsistent with self-infliction and noted the absence of a weapon matching those wounds at the scene. He also highlighted the presence of soot in John’s lungs, suggesting he was alive during the fire, which contradicted the suicide theory.
Further investigation revealed additional anomalies. For example, a third knife, believed to be the murder weapon, was never recovered. Also, a bent fireplace poker, not initially collected as evidence, was later found and could have caused John’s injuries.
Further, blood spatter in the stairwell was not documented or analyzed, and a bloodstain on the back bedroom door threshold suggested it had been open during the attack, contradicting the theory that the room was sealed.
These findings, coupled with the family’s assertion that the investigation was rushed and incomplete, led them to offer a $250,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in their parents’ deaths.
The case exposed significant deficiencies in New Jersey’s medical examiner system. At the time, the chief medical examiner position had been vacant for six years, and the pathologist who conducted the original autopsies was not board-certified. Under pressure from the Sheridan family and a coalition of prominent state figures, including three former governors, the state medical examiner, Dr. Andrew Falzon, reviewed the case. In January 2017, he changed John Sheridan’s manner of death from “suicide” to “undetermined,” citing the lack of a weapon and the compromised crime scene due to the fire.
Despite the reclassification, the case remains unresolved. In 2022, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office reopened the investigation, acknowledging the initial conclusion was premature and that critical evidence had been overlooked. The Sheridan family continues to advocate for a thorough and transparent investigation, seeking closure and accountability for the deaths of their parents.
Crime Immemorial 