Brother claims John and Joyce Sheridan stabbed, burned

Cooper Health Systems CEO John Sheridan may have been burned to death and his wife Joyce savagely stabbed before a fire engulfed their Montgomery home according to new reports.

John Sheridan, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Cooper Health System addresses a gathering in Camden in 2013 (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

Peter Mitchko, tells the Courier Post his sister Joyce was stabbed eight times in the neck and chest "with rage" the night of September 28 while John Sheridan suffered "tentative" stab wounds. Mitchko claims John was stabbed by a second knife found in the couple's bedroom, covered in a "huge armoire" and set on fire with gasoline. Joyce was found on the floor according to Mitchko. There was nothing stolen from the home including cash and a collection of Revolutionary War antiques.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, which has initially believed the deaths to be a murder/suicide, has offered little information other than to declare the fire to be arson. Mitchko is upset at the lack of information provided to his family by the prosecutor. “I think he (Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano) is totally incompetent,” Mitchko told the newspaper. “No one has any idea why this happened. I’ve got no information. I have no answer to why. I can’t even conceive of a why."

Mark Sheridan, one of four sons who is also a lawyer, disputes Mitchko's comments and says his comments "will not be supported when the results of the investigation come out.” In a statement, family spokesman Tom Wilson wrote, "We do not condone releasing information in a piecemeal fashion because of frustration with the process."

The prosecutor's office did not comment to the Courier-Post about its report.

The night of the fire, John Sheridan was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was taken to a hospital, where she died a short time later. Autopsies will be performed to determine what caused their deaths. Investigators for the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office later declared the fire to be arson.

ABC News, meanwhile, reports evidence in the September case suggests a third party may have stabbed the pair

John Sheridan was president and CEO of Camden-based Cooper University Health Care. He was active in state Republican politics and served on the transition teams of Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Gov. Christie Todd Whitman as well as legal positions for Gov. Williams Cahill (R).