Suspect Confessed To Killing 3 Former New Milford Residents, Report Says

The suspect in the shooting deaths of three former New Milford family members reportedly confessed to the killings when he was arrested last month, law enforcement authorities said in a search warrant application.

Jonathan Frederick Sander, 52, admitted to Wake County sheriff’s investigations that he had killed three neighbors before deputies arrested him next door in the house, The News & Observer reported Thursday.

Sander is charged with three counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Sandy Mazzella, 47, his wife, Stephanie, 43, and Mazzella’s mother, Elaine, 76 in their North Carolina home. The couple’s 14-year-old daughter, who was in the house at the time of the killings, was not hurt, police said. Eliane Mazzella’s husband and the couple’s 7-year-old son were not at the house when the killings reportedly happened, authorities said.

Investigator W.P. Gray told a magistrate that the three people were clearly dead when deputies arrived at the house shortly after 6 p.m. March 25, the report said.

Sander reportedly confessed to committing the murders, Gray wrote in the warrant application asking for permission to take blood, hair, and saliva samples from Sanders, the report said.

"This information corroborates witness statements that were taken at the murder scene,” Gray wrote. The samples were needed to determine whether Sander was intoxicated at the time of the killings, authorities said.

Investigators at Sander’s house found 10 shotgun shells, a loaded .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol, and a box of .32-caliber ammunition, the report said.

The Mazzellas moved from New Milford to the Poconos where they met Sander and his family. The families moved to Wake Forest, N.C. several years ago and the fathers worked together in a landscaping business.

The men argued often, according to published reports, and the relationship deteriorated to the point that Sander threatened the family.

Mazzella took out a restraining order against Sander, which was lifted the day before the killings.

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Jonathan Frederick Sander, 52