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 veterinarian, and Tyler Webb, 29, a firefighter, 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.
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 and Webb had recently started dating, prosecutors said. She had previously ended a relationship with Santos around September.
Her sister, Deanna Semanchik, said that Semanchik and Santos met in early 2024. At the time, Semanchik was using a wheelchair after getting into an accident. Santos would do everything for Semanchik, and her sister thought it was “so beautiful and so helpful.”
“He was her knight in shining armor, and I think he really liked being able to do that,” Deanna Semanchik said in a phone call on Tuesday.
But the relationship changed when Semanchik got better and returned to work “because he was no longer her main attention,” her sister said. She said Santos would start fights, accuse her of cheating and would read her diary.
After about six months of dating, the pair broke up. Deanna Semanchik said Santos would repeatedly call and text her sister. She alleged that he placed recording devices in Semanchik’s home while she wasn’t there and vandalized her car.
“I made her get cameras and put a lock on her door,” Deanna Semanchik said. “I live in Colorado, and I wanted her to be safe. There was only so much I could do. This was my biggest nightmare.”
Semanchik also sought help from Franklin Township police. Deanna Semanchik said her sister filed a police report with the department in May after her car was keyed. She said the department contacted Santos and told him that he was suspected of vandalism.
Semanchik then went down to the station to speak with police in person, but was told no one was available and given a phone number to call. Deanna Semanchik said her sister left a message, but never heard back from the department.
After her sister contacted police, Santos “went quiet,” but Deanna Semanchik was still concerned for her sister’s safety.
“I told [my family] that I think she’s in trouble and she needs to be more vigilant about her surroundings,” she said.
Franklin Township police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
On the day of the shootings, a video security system installed in Semanchik’s car captured a white Mercedes SUV following her as she drove home, the prosecutor’s office said. The video showed her leaving work in Long Valley on Friday as the SUV pulled out of a parking space and closely trailed her until she arrived 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 Lauren 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.
Deanna Semanchik said she wishes her sister’s concerns had been taken more seriously, but wants it to be a lesson for others.
“Talk to your people. Tell the truth, don’t lie for them, don’t defend them to make them look better,” she said. “And we need to hold more men and more people of authority accountable.”
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