Police Lieutenant Says He 'Blacked Out' Before Allegedly Killing Estranged Wife
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – We're learning new details about what happened in the moments before a Morris County woman was shot to death, allegedly at the hands of her estranged husband.
Forty-nine-year-old John Formisano, a Newark Police lieutenant, told investigators he entered the home on Mirror Place and began to suspect his estranged wife had a male guest in the bedroom, at which point he says he "blacked out," CBS2's Alice Gainer reports.
He told them, however, he did recall firing his weapon at 37-year-old Christine Formisano and a 40-year-old man identified as T.S. numerous times.
T.S. told investigators John Formisano called the house phone after 11 p.m. Sunday and that Christine spoke to him. She said she saw a flashlight and said Formisano was there. T.S. says she left the bedroom and locked the door behind her.
He then allegedly heard her yell "he's got a gun, call 911" before shots were fired.
T.S. says Formisano then broke the bedroom door and fired at him numerous times.
According to court documents, T.S. was shot in the thigh, hand, arms and stomach.
Christine Formisano ran out of the house, went to a neighboring home and tried to get inside, then went to another neighboring house where she was shot dead. She suffered gunshot wounds to the stomach, arm, leg, hand and head.
According to court documents, John Formisano told investigators he was at the home to drop off glasses belonging to one of their two children. The couple was in the process of getting divorced.
Flowers were placed outside the home Tuesday. Neighbors wouldn't talk about what happened.
In addition to murder and attempted murder charges, Formisano is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. His two children were in the home when the shooting happened.