Sheridan's sons continue fight to reverse father's suicide ruling

Mark Sheridan said he and his brothers will wait another 30 days before returning to the Appellate Division.

MONTGOMERY -- The sons of John P. Sheridan, Jr., former chief executive officer of Cooper Health System, are prepared to return to the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court seeking to overturn a ruling that their father committed suicide if the state Medical Examiner's Office and state Attorney General's Office do not act within 30 days.

On March 27, 2015, the Medical Examiner's Office and the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office announced that Sheridan, 72, fatally stabbed his wife, Joyce, 69, and set the bedroom of their township on fire. He then took his own life, stabbing himself five times in the neck and torso, according to both offices.

The sons have long-disputed those findings.

In mid-December, they submitted an expert opinion in the form of an affidavit from nationally-known pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to the state Medical Examiner's Office and Attorney General's Office refuting the state's pathologist's findings. Baden said the death appears to be a homicide, not a suicide.

Who killed the Sheridans?

"We've afforded the Medical Examiner 60 days so far and we're willing to wait another 30 days," Mark Sheridan said. "We feel that's more than enough time to make a determination. We only have so much patience.

"We were told in the Appellate Division that if the Medical Examiner's Office fails to act we could come back and they'll decide the issue."

Mark Sheridan said he and his brothers believe that the lack of evidence, the flawed investigation and Baden's affidavit is enough to overturn the ruling that their father committed suicide.

Early last year, the sons went to the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court to get their father's cause of death changed from a suicide and the Appellate Division asked them to go back to the state Medical Examiner's Office and asked if they would reconsider their findings, said Mark Sheridan.

Sheridan deaths deserve new probe

On Wednesday, the sons - Tim, Dan, Matt, and Mark- appeared to have their cause furthered when a group of 200 prominent New Jersey residents -- including former Governors Thomas Kean, James J. Florio and Christine Whitman -- submitted an open letter to state officials calling for the investigation into the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan to be reopened.

The group, known as the Friends of John & Joyce Sheridan, stated in a letter released Wednesday that the family is offering a $250,000 reward "for information leading to the arrest and conviction of John and Joyce's killer(s)."

"My brothers and I have been honored by the people who have been willing to put themselves out there and speak up for my parents," said Mark Sheridan. "It speaks volumes to the type of people they were. Not many people have friends like that.

"We're so thankful for their support of our parents. We've been truly moved."

Family: Don't 'destroy' legacy

Last Sunday, the New York Times magazine published an extensive look at the sons' attempts to have the case reexamined.

The sons and others have long criticized the prosecutor's office handling of the case. Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano, whose five-year term expired in October, was replaced by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Robertson on Thursday, a day after the letter was released by the Friends group. Robertson will begin his new job on March 7.

"We just want to know who killed our parents and the first step is to change the conclusion that my father killed himself," said Mark Sheridan. "If you change that conclusion, all the other conclusions fall apart, including he killed my mother."