Man dead after found unresponsive outside of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, home
The Cherry Hill Police Department and Camden County Prosecutor's Office are investigating a homicide after a man was found unconscious outside of a home in the town's Barclay neighborhood Tuesday.
Police responded to a home in the 100 block of Sharrowvale Road just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office wrote in a news release about the investigation.
Prosecutors identified the man as 45-year-old Michael Anthony. Sources told CBS News Philadelphia that Anthony is a local veterinarian and owns the practice Haddon Vet in Haddon Heights, Camden County.
Investigators pronounced Anthony dead at the scene on Sharrowvale Road, according to the prosecutor's office.
Neighbors in Cherry Hill were rattled after hearing the disturbing news.
At around 7 a.m., Chris Shelton said he heard screaming from outside of the home next door.
"By the time I ran out, I saw ... I saw a body on the front yard," Shelton said.
He said he frequently said hi to Anthony and the man whom he said Anthony lived with.
"They seemed like nice guys. We've been here for eight years and never had any problems with them," Shelton said. "They seemed like great guys … and then this happened today, so it's kind of shocking."
Police spent seven hours combing the area around the home for details with the help of a K-9 officer. They also used a ladder to remove and inspect a box from a tree. While the prosecutor's office said the death was being investigated as a homicide, neighbors said police told them they were not in danger.
"This is very unexpected because Barclay is preferably safe, a lot of family in here," neighbor Drew Coolhan said.
Coolhan grew up in the neighborhood and said the investigation makes him uneasy.
"That is awful. I just don't get it," he said.
Meanwhile, Shelton said it will be a while until he can come to terms with what he saw.
"I don't know how else to describe it. I haven't gotten out of my clothes that I woke up in ... We're just kinda trying to process the whole thing," Shelton said.
It's unclear at this time what events led up to Anthony's death.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to call Detective Daniel Crawford with CCPO's Homicide Unit at (856) 580-2223, or Detective Frank Kirsch with Cherry Hill police at (856) 432-8834.
