Fire That Killed Cooper Hospital CEO Deemed Intentional, Police Say

Police say the house fire that killed Cooper University Health System CEO and former N.J. transportation chief John Sheridan Jr. and his wife Joyce in Montgomery Township was set intentionally.

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office:

Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano states that on Sunday, September 28, 2014 at approximately 6:13 a.m. Montgomery Township Police along with Montgomery Township Fire personnel responded to a 9-1-1 call alerting them of a residential fire at 49 Meadow Run Drive, in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township, New Jersey. The fire was contained to the upstairs master bedroom of the residence.

In this room, fire personnel located two unresponsive occupants of the residence who were identified as John P. Sheridan, Jr. age 72, and his spouse Joyce C. Sheridan, age 69. Emergency personnel attempted life saving measures on Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan. Mr. Sheridan was pronounced dead at the scene, and Mrs. Sheridan was transported to Princeton Medical Center where she was subsequently pronounced dead.

Prosecutor Soriano further states that detectives from the Montgomery Township Police Department, along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations and Forensics Unit, the Arson Task Force, and the New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene and have been conducting an exhaustive investigation.

Investigators assigned to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Arson Task Force have determined that the fire was intentionally set within the master bedroom.

Prosecutor Soriano states that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan remain an active and on-going investigation with laboratory results still pending.

Prosecutor Soriano, Chief Fitzgerald and Captain Palmer request that anyone with information pertaining to this incident is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100, the Montgomery Township Police Department at (908) 359-3222, or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.888577tips.org or www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE”. All calls will be kept confidential.