NJ Dad Fatally Shoots Wife, Daughter In Double Murder-Suicide, Police Say

MONTGOMERY, NJ — Authorities have identified the three people found dead with gunshot wounds inside a Montgomery home on Friday in a double murder-suicide.

The female victims were identified as Lora Grodnick, 62, and Sloane Grodnick, 24, mother and daughter, said Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

The cause of death for both women was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, according to authorities.

The dead man was identified as David Grodnick, 61, husband to Lora and father to Sloane, McDonald said.

His cause of death was a gunshot wound of the head, and the manner of death was ruled a suicide, said McDonald.

On Thursday, Oct. 1, just before 3 p.m., Montgomery Township Police got a call requesting a welfare check on the residents of a home on Wild Azalea Lane.

Officers went to the home but were unable to contact anyone inside and then began investigating where the residents were, McDonald said.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Friday, officers were able to get inside the home. When they got inside, they found two dead women (later identified as Lora and Sloane Grodnick) in two separate bedrooms of the home.

Both women appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds, according to McDonald.

A dead adult man(later identified as David Grodnick) was also found in the home with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said McDonald.

David Grodnick was reportedly found in possession of a gun.

Both women and the man were pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Somerset.

Detectives from the Montgomery Township Police Department
along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Medical Investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office investigated.

A postmortem examination was performed by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

"The investigation, which remains ongoing, has yielded that the homicide deaths of both Lora and Sloane Grodnick were an isolated incident and there are no threats to the public from this tragic occurrence," said McDonald.

Anyone with information relating to this investigation is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Montgomery Police Department at 908) 359-3222 or via OPS Tips.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All tips will be kept
confidential.

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