A New Jersey state police lieutenant, who also served on Gov. Phil Murphy’s security detail, allegedly followed his ex-girlfriend home from work Friday evening and fatally shot her and her new boyfriend.
The shootings happened near a residence in the Pittstown section of Franklin Township. Lauren Semanchik, 33, a local veterinarian, and Tyler Webb, 29, were found dead Saturday from apparent gunshot wounds, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.
Ricardo Jorge Santos, with the New Jersey State Police, is accused of shooting Semanchik and Webb before killing himself, prosecutors said. He was found dead in a white Mercedes SUV parked in Piscataway. A gun was located inside the vehicle, the release stated.
The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office preliminarily determined his death to be a suicide.
State police did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Gov. Murphy said, “We are shocked and devastated by this horrific tragedy.”
“Due to the law enforcement investigation currently underway, we will refrain from further comment at this time,” the spokesman said.
Semanchik and Webb had recently started dating, prosecutors said. She had previously ended a relationship with Santos around September. Following the breakup, Semanchik had accused Santos of engaging in “harassing and controlling behavior,” according to the news release.
The prosecutor’s office said that Semanchik had installed a video security system in her car, and it showed her leaving work in Long Valley on Friday as a white Mercedes SUV pulls out of a parking space and closely follows her until she arrives home.
The video showed a person “surreptitiously walking through the wooded area along the driveway leading up to the residence,” prosecutors said. Webb’s vehicle then arrived at the home and parked next to Semanchik’s vehicle.
The prosecutor’s office said that Franklin Township police were initially called to the area just after 7 p.m. on Friday for reports of gunshots and screaming. Officers, however, did not find anything.
On Saturday afternoon, the police department received another 911 call reporting that a woman had been found unconscious at a home. Responding officers located the bodies of Semanchik and Webb.
Prosecutor Renée Robeson called the deaths a “senseless and devastating loss.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of Dr. Lauren Semanchik and Tyler Webb, whose lives were tragically taken in an act of domestic violence,” Robeson said in a statement.
“We urge anyone experiencing threats, harassment, or abuse to seek help and know they are not alone,” she said. “Resources are available, and there is strength in reaching out. Together, we will continue to work toward a safer future for all.”
Semanchik’s mother, Jennine Semanchik, told NJ.com that her daughter met Santos online in early 2024. She said that after the relationship ended, Santos repeatedly reached out. Her daughter called local police seeking to file a restraining order, but was not issued one, Jennine Semanchik said.
Franklin Township police and the prosecutor’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
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