April Kauffman, 47, was found dead Thursday in the bedroom of her Linwood home, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. Authorities say a handyman made the discovery.
The day before her death, she co-hosted "The King Arthur Show" on radio station WIBG, a show she had appeared on weekly for at least several months. But the prosecutor said the killing apparently had nothing to do with her work on the radio.
Atlantic County Prosecutor Theodore Housel suggested Friday that an arrest was likely, though he didn't say how soon or provide any information about a possible suspect.
"We have sufficient information to conduct an ongoing investigation that we believe will ultimately be successful," he said.
Kauffman friends and associates said she owned a catering business and a hair salon but was best known in the area for her support of veterans, including on-air. Her husband, James Kauffman, is a practicing endocrinologist in Linwood, The Press of Atlantic City reported.
"She just had an incredible personality. She could never say no to any charity or anything. The kind of person who would give you the shirt off her back," her radio show co-host, Arthur Gropper, said.
Gropper said Kauffman was in a jovial mood Wednesday, with no indication anything was troubling her. He said they were celebrating progress on veterans issues and she was talking about wanting to work with homeless veterans.
Until February, she had also hosted a weekly talk show on radio station WOND.
Donna Clementoni, a friend and fellow veterans advocate from Egg Harbor Township, told The Press that Kauffman sent her an email around 1:50 a.m. Thursday about an event the two were planning. She said she tried to reach Kauffman about 9 a.m. but couldn't.
"I have no idea why anyone would do this. She's like a local legend. She's outspoken. She's like a bombshell and all she ever wanted to do was help people," Clementoni said.
Kauffman held a Thanksgiving dinner at her home each year for about 50 recruits from the Cape May U.S. Coast Guard Training Center. Last year, she was a key organizer of a successful petition drive to allow veterans to use an area hospital rather than having to travel to a Veterans Affairs hospital in Delaware, the newspaper said.
Just a few days before her death she also received a governor's award for outstanding community service.
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Associated Press writer Andrew Duffelmeyer in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.
