Hospital CEO's wife was stabbed to death, police say

SKILLMAN, N.J. (WPVI) -- Investigators say the wife of a prominent New Jersey hospital executive died last year from a stab wound.

John and Joyce Sheridan both were found dead last September during a fire in their home in Somerset County.

72-year-old John Sheridan was CEO of Cooper University Health System and politically connected. He was a former New Jersey transportation commissioner.

69-year-old Joyce Sheridan was a retired school teacher.

Five months after they died, we now know that Joyce Sheridan was murdered.

The state medical examiner has ruled she died from a stab wound to the chest that pierced her aorta. But the ruling doesn't shed much light on what happened.

The medical examiner still has not ruled on the cause of John Sheridan's death. He was also found stabbed in the bedroom, which was set on fire.

The unusually prolonged investigation has led to a lot of speculation, but no answers.

Could it have been a murder-suicide, or were both killed by someone else?

Investigators have questioned the Sheridans' four sons and say they played no role in the deaths.

Although, one of them was found with illegal drugs and paraphernalia the day the bodies were discovered. He has not been charged.

Investigators say the public is not in danger, which indicates the Sheridans were not killed during a botched burglary of some kind.

A spokesman for the State Attorney General says they will not have anything conclusive until the medical examiner finally rules on the cause of death for John Sheridan. In the meantime, the Somerset County prosecutor, who is leading the investigation, has not returned our phone calls.