200 NJ power players: Reopen Sheridan death investigation

For more than a year, the four sons of John and Joyce Sheridan have been asking who killed their parents. They've soundly rejected the Somerset County Prosecutors Office's determination John Sheridan stabbed his wife before setting their bedroom on fire and stabbing himself.

Now, nearly 200 New Jersey residents — among them three former governors and several other prominent business and political leaders — are calling for authorities to reopen the case.

"(M)ost of all we believe that John Sheridan—through his personal and professional life in New Jersey—earned the right to have his life and death assessed competently and accurately," the "Friends of John & Joyce Sheridan" wrote in a letter released publicly Wednesday. "At a minimum, that requires that the manner of death be changed by the medical examiner from suicide to undetermined."

The Sept. 28, 2014 deaths of John Sheridan — CEO of Cooper Hospital and a highly politically connected former state transportation commissioner — and his wife at their Montgomery home had been a matter of intense speculation for months. The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and state Attorney General's Office initially said little to suggest the direction of their investigations, other than to state the Sheridans' four sons were not considered suspects themselves. In February of 2015, a spokesman for the AG's Office confirmed Joyce Sheridan had been stabbed to death.

Then, in late March 2015, the prosecutor's office released its conclusions — that John Sheridan stabbed his wife multiple times in the face and chest, poured gasoline throughout their bedroom, set the room on fire, stabbed himself and died under an armoire that fell on him and broke several of his ribs.

The sons immediately rejected that conclusion, pointing to what they said were inconsistencies and flaws in the investigation. They note the prosecutor's office has never definitively identified the weapon used to kill John Sheridan — though it has pointed to a piece of resolidified metal it says may have once been the weapon used, before being melted by the fire.

The sons also point to several other issues — errors in the Sheridans' autopsy (including mistakes made listing John Sheridan's age and height), missed wounds during an initial medical examination, inconclusive DNA evidence at the scene and evidence at the Sheridans' house that went undiscovered during the initial investigation.

Son Mark Sheridan stepped down as counsel to the Republican Sate Committee last year, saying he'd be aggressively challenging Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, an appointee of Gov. Chris Christie's — and didn't want to be in the position of representing Christie's party at the same time.

"The only truth in this terrible tragedy is that no one knows what happened on that September morning — not us, not the medical examiner, not the prosecutor," the letter from the 200 prominent residents says.

Among those signing the letter were 40 members of Sheridan's former law firm, as well as former Governors Thomas Kean, James J. Florio and Christine Whitman, and former Attorney Generals John Farmer and Peter Harvey. Former state Supreme Court Justices and former state Cabinet officers are included as well.

"We knew them as colleagues, as leaders, as mentors, and as neighbors who loved each other and their family," the group wrote. "And, most importantly, we knew them as friends who cared deeply about how they conducted their lives."

The group said it supports the Sheridan family's efforts to have the investigation re-opened by offering "a substantial financial reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of John and Joyce’s killer(s)."

The sons have previously stated they'll offer a $250,000 reward for information leading to a determination about their parents' deaths.

Earlier this month, the New York Times ran a lengthy look at the investigation, and the questions the prosecutor's office's report left unanswered.