NJ Medical Examiner Relists Manner Of Death For Cooper CEO Killed In Fire In 2014
SOMERVILLE, NJ (CBS) -- The New Jersey State Medical Examiner has revised the death certificate for the former head of Cooper University Hospital, who was found dead in a fire in September of 2014.
John Sheridan was killed along with his wife Joyce in their Somerset County home. Investigators determined, and the coroner confirmed at the time, that Joyce was stabbed to death and that John committed suicide after setting their bedroom ablaze.
Sheridan's four sons sued, insisting an independent autopsy found John Sheridan did not kill himself.
Dr. Andrew Falzon has now revised the death certificate to read that the manner of John Sheridan's death is now "undetermined."
However, the cause of Mr. Sheridan's death remains as "sharp force injuries and smoke inhalation."
Falzon's report suggests initial wounds on the body might support a suicide finding but no weapon was recovered at the home that could be conclusively linked to the incident. In addition, there was "the extreme destruction of the scene by the fire." Those factors led to Falzon's change of heart.
Mark Sheridan, one son who filed the suit, told KYW Newsradio, "It's been a long two plus years to get to this point. We feel a huge wrong has been made right, at least in part. Unfortunately we still don't know who killed our parents."
He has called upon the Somerset County Prosecutor to reopen the investigation, but says he hasn't spoken to anyone there in more than a year. Prosecutor Michael Robinson is declining comment, except to reassure residents that "they have no reason to believe that they should be fearful for their safety."
"It almost never happens where a medical examiner will change their finding," said Peter Erdely, an attorney not related to the case. He explains that a cause of death being changed does not necessarily mean that a case will be reopened. "Regardless of what the medical examiner report says, whether it's the first version, an amended version, the prosecutor always maintains discretion over what to investigate.
Alexandria Hoff contributed to this report.
