State Trooper Is Said to Be a Suspect in 2 Fatal Shootings

New York Times

2 days ago

A New Jersey state trooper who previously was a supervisor on the governor's protection detail is suspected of killing his former girlfriend and a man in Hunterdon County before killing himself, according to two people briefed on the investigation.
The deaths were discovered around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, when local police officers responded to a 911 call in the Pittstown section of Franklin Township made by someone who had found an unconscious woman with physical trauma.
The officers found two people who had been fatally shot in what investigators believe was a targeted act, according to the Hunterdon County prosecutor's office, which released a statement on Sunday. Investigators identified the victims as Lauren Semanchik, 33, of Pittstown, and Tyler Webb, 29, of Forked River.
The two victims were found in Ms. Semanchik's home.
While the prosecutor's office did not name a suspect, he was identified by a person familiar with the investigation as Ricardo Santos, a state trooper and Ms. Semanchik's ex-boyfriend. A second person familiar with the investigation confirmed the name of the suspect.
Officer Santos had served several years ago in the State Police's executive protection unit on Gov. Philip D. Murphy's detail. More recently, he was assigned to the agency's dignitary protection unit, which guards other important people in the state government, one of the people said.
He was found dead in a vehicle in Johnson Park in Piscataway, N.J., on Saturday, according to one of the people familiar with the investigation. The local police in Piscataway referred questions to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which was closed for the weekend.
Deanna Semanchik, Ms. Semanchik's sister, said in an interview Sunday that the trooper had been harassing Ms. Semanchik in recent weeks. She said the two had dated for only a few months earlier this year, but that he would not leave her alone.
'She was the most empathetic person I have ever met,' Deanna Semanchik said. 'She just had such a big heart.'
Lauren Semanchik, a veterinarian, owned the home where the shooting occurred, property records show. Mr. Webb was a volunteer firefighter, according to the Pinewald Pioneer Fire Company, which announced his death in a Facebook post Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the New Jersey attorney general's office, which oversees the State Police, said that the office was devastated by the tragedies and extended sympathies to the victims' families and loved ones.
A spokesman for Mr. Murphy said that the governor's office was shocked by the killings.
Neighbors in Pittstown reported Sunday in a local Facebook group that there was a heavy police presence on Upper Kingtown Road, near where the bodies were found.
Members of the New Jersey governor's security detail are assigned to guard the governor and his family around the clock, including at their home in Middletown and at Drumthwacket, the executive mansion in Princeton. While on the detail, Officer Santos worked as a trusted supervisor, records show.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.