Sheridan family alleges conclusions of parents' deaths were "tainted"

The sons of Cooper Health System's late CEO, John P. Sheridan Jr., and his wife want the full investigative file surrounding their parents' deaths, alleging that the medical examiner who conducted their autopsies was not qualified and was persuaded by authorities to conclude it was a murder-suicide.

In a letter released Monday, Mark Sheridan, one of the four sons, wrote to New Jersey acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman seeking a wide array of documents. Sheridan, a lawyer, also criticized the six-month investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the quality of the state Medical Examiner's Office.

In March, Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano ruled that John Sheridan killed his wife, Joyce, set their Montgomery Township master bedroom on fire, and took his own life.

"The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office imposed its desired result with little to no evidence supporting its murder-suicide conclusion. Now it seeks to hide the facts of its inadequate investigation from our family," Mark Sheridan wrote in the May 4 letter.

The Sheridan sons have valid concerns, according to experts recently interviewed by The Inquirer. There has not been a permanent New Jersey state medical examiner in office for at least five years, and the state does not require its pathologists to have national certification.

In 2009, Victor Weedn was the acting state medical examiner under Gov. Jon S. Corzine. He complained then that the state office was poorly funded and should be independent of law enforcement.

"Out of frustration and protest, I hereby give notice of my resignation - as have my predecessors except for the first two appointees more than a decade ago," wrote Weedn, now the forensic chair at George Washington University.

Since he left, Weedn said, he has been told by former colleagues that problems have grown "worse, as a lack of structure and lack of resources" exist.

Two years before Weedn resigned, Zhongxue Hua left as chief medical examiner in the northern regional office in Newark because, he said, he was frustrated trying to maintain national accreditation.

"You cannot let a noncertified doctor perform an autopsy. It's like letting someone drive a car without a license," said Hua, who once supervised the medical examiner, Eddy Lilavois, who performed the Sheridan autopsies. Under Hua's supervision from 2001 to 2007, Lilavois was an investigator, but did not perform autopsies because he did not have national certification from the American Board of Pathology.

Hua said New Jersey has a system that "needs to be fixed." He compared it to a table that can function with three legs; in this case, Hua said, New Jersey is like the "one-legged table."

The Sheridans had asked Hoffman during the county's investigation to have the state take over the case, partly because of concerns raised about Lilavois and the Medical Examiner's Office. Authorities declined to do so. The Sheridans now want Hoffman to help them obtain records, since the investigation has been closed by Somerset County.

Mark Sheridan - with brothers Matt, Tim, and Dan - believe their parents were killed by an intruder early Sept. 28, 2014. Both parents were found dead with multiple stab wounds.

"To tell us that our parents died in a murder-suicide was horrible. To deny us access to the records that supposedly support that conclusion is nothing short of cruel," Mark Sheridan wrote to Hoffman.

The Sheridan sons are seeking documents such as complete autopsy reports, including bench notes, photographs, diagrams, and audio recordings from Lilavois. The letter also seeks information from the Medical Examiner's Office regarding qualifications of pathologists, staffing, and accreditation.

Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said, "We are in receipt of the letter from Mr. Sheridan. The release of the criminal investigative file is a matter between the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the Sheridan family."

Soriano, the prosecutor, directed questions to the Attorney General's Office.

"While the County of Somerset relies upon the function and services of the Regional Medical Examiner Center, the questions posed are within the primary purview of the Attorney General's Office," Soriano said in a statement. "As such, it would appear that your questions are most appropriately directed to the Attorney General's Office."

The Attorney General's Office has oversight of prosecutors across the state, and the Medical Examiner's Office.

In his letter, Sheridan said Lilavois was not properly qualified or supervised, and was inappropriately swayed by Somerset County investigators, who, he said, did an "inadequate" investigation.

Lilavois, who has met with the private pathologist hired by the family, initially did not believe John Sheridan committed suicide, Mark Sheridan wrote, pointing out that investigators pressured Lilavois three times, which "tainted his conclusions."

Rebecca Johnson, CEO of the American Board of Pathology, which administers the national certification exam for pathologists, said medical examiners and law enforcement need to share information. Cause and manner of death, she said, are medical decisions that should be made by a doctor.

"In an ideal system, the medical examiner is independent of law enforcement," Johnson said.

Lilavois, who declined to comment, was hired in 1996 as the pathologist in charge of investigations at the regional office in Newark, said Zach Hosseini, a spokesman for the Medical Examiner's Office. Since 2007, Lilavois has served as an assistant medical examiner. In the last year he was given a $40,000 raise, and is now earning $185,000.

Days after the Sheridan deaths, the couple's sons hired renowned pathologist Michael Baden to do an independent autopsy of John Sheridan and a review of Joyce Sheridan.

Baden advised the Sheridan family that authorities had failed to document a wound in John Sheridan's neck that nicked the jugular. He confirmed that a kitchen carving knife found in the bedroom caused Joyce Sheridan's wounds, but he said investigators did not recover the weapon, with a thin blade similar to a stiletto, that caused John Sheridan's wounds.

Before working in New Jersey, Lilavois was a pathologist in New York City, where he resigned following a controversial finding involving the death of a 3-year-old boy in 1993.

Lilavois initially ruled that the toddler's death was a homicide caused by blunt injury to the neck and brain, according to New York court records. Weeks later, Lilavois conducted a more thorough review and concluded that the boy died from a brain aneurysm.

Lilavois did not notify the boy's family or law enforcement agencies that the case was not a homicide, according to court records. Authorities had been investigating the father as a suspect until the New York Daily News reported in 1995 that the boy died of natural causes.

Lilavois was hired in New Jersey as an investigator and worked under the supervision of another pathologist.

High turnover of pathologists is a problem Hosseini said the office is addressing partly by increased salaries. The state is also interviewing candidates to appoint a medical examiner, Hosseini said.

Although New Jersey does not have accreditation by the National Association of Medical Examiners, Hosseini said the accreditation is voluntary, and only 12 states hold it. New Jersey failed in 2013 because of staffing ratios.

"New Jersey's requirements for medical examiners are some of the most stringent in the nation. Our law mandates medical examiners to be both a medical doctor and a forensic pathologist," Hosseini said.