Hospital CEO, wife stabbed then torched, relative says

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, N.J. - The brother of a New Jersey woman whose body was pulled from a burning home in September says that she and her husband, a hospital executive, were both fatally stabbed.

In separate interviews, Peter Mitchko told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill and NJ.com that's what he has been told by sons of John and Joyce Sheridan, as well as the pathologist the sons hired to investigate the case.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office has not said what caused the Sept. 28 deaths of the 69-year-old retired teacher and 72-year-old executive at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. John Sheridan has also served as state transportation commissioner, along with other government roles and as a private lawyer.

Authorities have said that a fire at the Montgomery Township home that morning was set intentionally.

The prosecutor's office did not return messages Wednesday.

Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, which is helping with the investigation, says the couple's cause of death has not been made public because it has not been finalized. He said his office has been involved in the investigation for several weeks because of its complexity.

Michael Baden, the crime investigator hired by the Sheridan family, said he could not comment.

Tom Wilson, a spokesman for the Sheridan family, released a statement Tuesday to CBS News on behalf of John and Joyce's sons saying, in part, "Real answers will only come after a full and thorough investigation. We do not condone releasing information in a piecemeal fashion because of frustration with the process, it is not helpful to getting to the truth about what happened to our parents."