Two killed in Branchburg, one person in custody

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a double homicide in Branchburg today, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Capt. Jack Bennett, of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed the arrest Saturday afternoon. Bennett did not release the name of the suspect or say what, if anything, the person in custody had been charged with.

Bennett said the double homicide occurred at 115 Readington Road in Branchburg. Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Branchburg Police are investigating the incident.

The house is owned by Louis and Beatrice Simon, according to property records. It is not clear if they were home at the time of the incident and Bennett did not identify the victims.

Bennett declined to release additional information about the homicide citing the ongoing investigation.

According to multiple reports, police first arrived at the home early Saturday morning.

Lani Diemicke, a Branchburg resident, drove past the crime scene Saturday afternoon. Diemicke said police cars and unmarked cars were parked outside the home and the entire property was cordoned off with crime scene tape. There was also a black van from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office parked in the driveway.

Diemicke said she was surprised by the news that there was a double homicide in her community.

“My first thought was that doesn’t happen here,” she said.

Diemicke lives about three miles from Readington Road and said there are rarely murders. She acknowledged that there was a double homicide in Raritan in December, but noted that was a domestic dispute. In that case, police charged Ramon Cadiz with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing his girlfriend and her teenage daughter.

“I’ve lived in Branchburg for 17 and a half years and in Readington for seven or eight before that,” she said. “It’s not something that happens around here.”