Trooper who once protected NJ Gov. Phil Murphy suspected in murder-suicide, prosecutor says
A New Jersey State Police sergeant, who once served on Gov. Phil Murphy's security detail, is suspected of killing his former girlfriend and the volunteer firefighter she was dating in a house in Franklin Township before dying by suicide, authorities said.
Following Sunday's double homicide, police discovered Sgt. 1st Class Ricardo Jorge Santos dead in a Mercedes SUV from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot in Johnson Park in Piscataway, New Jersey, according to a statement from the Henderson County Prosecutor's Office.
Killed in what investigators said was a "targeted act" in Pittstown, Henderson County, were 33-year-old Lauren Semanchik, a local veterinarian, and 29-year-old Tyler Webb, a volunteer firefighter from Forked River, New Jersey, according to the prosecutor's office.
"Considering the suspect's subsequent suicide, we recognize that many questions remain, and healing will take time. While justice in the legal sense may not proceed, our commitment to supporting survivors and preventing furture tragedies remains unwavering," Henderson County Prosecutor Renee Robeson said in a statement.
Franklin Township police officers responded to Semanchik's home around around 12:22 p.m. on Sunday after a 911 caller reported finding an unconscious woman there with "apparent physical trauma," according to the prosecutor's office.
Upon entering the Pittstown home, officers found Semanchik and Webb dead from "apparent gunshot wounds from a semiautomatic firearm," according to the prosecutor's office.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that Semanchik and Webb were killed on Friday night, officials said. Detectives learned that a 911 call came in around 7:08 p.m. on Friday from an area near Semanchik's home in which a dispatcher could hear gunshots and screaming in the background, the prosecutor's office said. Officers responded to the call and checked the area but did not find the source of the gunshots and screaming, according to the prosecutor's office.
As the investigation unfolded, detectives zeroed in on Santos as the primary suspect after learning he had previously dated Semanchik.
"After ending her relationship with Santos in approximately September 2024, Semanchik accused Santos of "harassing and controlling behavior," according to the prosecutor's statement.
The investigation uncovered a video surveillance system with a rear-facing camera that Semanchik had installed in her car, authorities said. Detectives combed through the surveillance footage from Semanchik car and saw that when she left work at the Long Valley Animal Hospital around 5:25 p.m. on Friday, she was followed to her home by a 2008 Mercedes SUV matching Santos' vehicle, according to the prosecutor's office.
Just after 6 p.m. on Friday, an individual was recorded on surveillance video "surreptitiously walking through the wooded area along the driveway" of Semanchik residence, authorities said. The video also showed Webb's vehicle arriving at the home around 6:45 p.m.
Investigators collected a semiautomatic handgun from the vehicle that Santos' body was found in and believe the suspect used the firearm to commit the homicides and take his own life.
Santos served in the New Jersey State Police's executive protection unit, which guards the governor, officials said. He was most recently assigned to the agency's dignitary protection unit, which guards high-ranking state officials.
"We are shocked and devastated by this horrific tragedy," a spokesperson for Murphy said in a statement. "Due to the law enforcement investigation currently underway, we will refrain from further comment at this time."
Friends and colleagues of both victims mourned their horrific death and Robeson urged "anyone experiencing threats, harassment, or abuse to seek help and know thy are not alone."
"Not only was Lauren a phenomenal veterinarian, she was one of the kindest souls you could ever encounter and a friend to us all," a colleague of Semancik's at Long Valley Animal Hospital told New York ABC station WABC.
The Pinewald Pioneer Fire Company in Bayville, New Jersey, where Webb was a volunteer firefighter, released a statement on social media, saying, "Tyler served our department with dedication and honor."
"His contributions to our company and community will never be forgotten," the department wrote in the post.
