Death of NJ hospital CEO's wife ruled homicide, reports say

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, N.J. - The death of a hospital executive's wife who was pulled from her burning home in September has been ruled a homicide.

But authorities still haven't determined what caused the death of her husband, who also was killed in the fire.

The findings were noted in recently filed death certificates for 69-year-old Joyce Sheridan and her 72-year-old husband, John, according to several published reports.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office has not said what caused the couple's deaths on Sept. 28. But they have said that a fire at the Montgomery Township home that morning was set intentionally.

Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said in a statement weeks after the fire that the couple's four sons "played no role" in their parents' deaths.

Joyce Sheridan's brother, Peter Mitchko, told media outlets earlier this month that his sister and her husband were both fatally stabbed. He says he was told that information by sons of John and Joyce Sheridan, as well as a pathologist the sons hired to investigate the case.

Mitchko also reportedly told the publications that John Sheridan was found under an armoire that was set on fire with gasoline. He says Joyce Sheridan was found on the bedroom floor. She was transported to a hospital where she died.

Authorities have not confirmed the information provided by Mitchko.

Joyce Sheridan was a retired teacher, while John Sheridan worked at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J. He also served as a state transportation commissioner, along with other government roles and as a private lawyer.