Crime Junkie is examining the murders of husband and wife John and Joyce Sheridan, who were stabbed to death in their home in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, in 2014.
John Sheridan was a prominent Republican politician in New Jersey, where he worked for multiple governors and had been a Transportation Commissioner. This has led to accusations that their murders were the result of a political assassination.
On September 28, 2014, John and Joyce were stabbed with a kitchen knife. The police initially declared the incident a murder-suicide, ruling that John killed his wife of 47 years before setting fire to the house and stabbing himself.
The murder weapon was never found, but a knife was missing from their knife block in the kitchen.
However, the couple’s children, led by their lawyer son Mark Sheridan, disputed that his father had turned into a killer. The family offered a reward of $250,000 for any information about the killings and hired celebrity pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to look into the case.
Baden found evidence that John had suffered a chipped tooth, which suggested he had been punched. The pathologist determined the couple were likely killed by an intruder.
In 2017, the state medical examiner changed John Sheridan’s cause of death from “suicide” to undetermined. At the time, Mark Sheridan said, a “huge wrong has been made right, at least in part.”
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelNew Jersey Attorney General reopened Joyce and John Sheridan murder case
In May 2022, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced the investigation would be reopened. Steven Barnes, a spokesman for acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin, claimed, “Our office is investigating this matter, and we will follow the evidence wherever it leads.”
The Sheridan family has asked authorities to examine another murder that occurred in 2014 and appeared similar to their parents’ deaths. In May 2014, Michael Galdieri was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife, and his apartment was set on fire in Jersey City.
Galdieri was murdered by George Bratsenis and Bomani Africa, who were hired by Sean Caddle, a Democratic political consultant. The victim had previously worked for Caddle’s consulting firm.
Bratensis was arrested by Connecticut cops on an unrelated matter the day after Joyce and John were killed. The cops found a large handled kitchen knife in his possession.
Sheridan family suspect Michael Galdieri murder may be connected to Joyce and John Sheridan murders
Mark Sheridan said the description of the Bratsenis knife matched the one missing from the Sheridan kitchen and has asked the cops to test the knife for his parents’ DNA.
The investigation is still ongoing.
In the meantime, Caddle, Bratsenis, and Africa all admitted their guilt in the Galdieri murder and are serving lengthy sentences.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: Joyce and John Sheridan is available to download now on Crime Junkie.