State Changes Cooper Hospital CEO's Death From 'Suicide' to 'Undetermined'

MONTGOMERY, NJ — The death of a Montgomery man and the CEO of Cooper University Health System, who was found dead alongside his wife in a house fire, is being changed by the New Jersey State Medical Examiner.

Dr. Andrew L. Falzon filed documents to amend the death certificate and autopsy report for John P. Sheridan, Jr. on Friday.

The fire on Sept. 28, 2014, which was determined to be set intentionally, was initially ruled as a suicide. However the Sheridan family filed an administrative appeal to the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court.

Dr. Falzon re-examined the death of John Sheridan and based on his review of the case and autopsy files, Dr. Falzon filed an amendment to the death certificate for John Sheridan with the Department of Health, changing the manner of death from “suicide” to “undetermined.”

Dr. Falzon cited the discovery of "sharp force injuries and smoke inhalation."

"Regarding the determination of the manner of death, it was observed that the wounds documented on
the body of John P. Sheridan Jr. have the appearance of self-inflicted wounds. However, no weapon
was recovered from the scene that could be conclusively associated with the wounds sustained by Mr.
Sheridan. All this is unfortunately compounded by the extensive destruction of the scene by the fire.
It is therefore my opinion that the manner of death is best classified as "Undetermined." Should
additional information regarding the case become available in the future, the case will be re-evaluated
and amended if necessary," Falzon said.

To see the full report CLICK HERE.

"At this time we have no comment; however, I want to assure the public and the residents of Somerset County that we have no reason to believe that they should be fearful of their safety," said Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson.

A 911 call was made on Sept. 28, 2014 around 6:13 a.m. alerting authorities of the fire at the Sheridan's 49 Meadow Run Drive, in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township. The fire was contained to the upstairs master bedroom of the residence.

In bedroom, 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.

Mr. Sheridan was pronounced dead at the scene, and Mrs. Sheridan was transported to Princeton Medical Center where she was subsequently pronounced dead.

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

(Image via Shutterstock)

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