Son found dead at home of couple involved in Stratford, NJ hospital shooting

STRATFORD, N.J. (WPVI) -- Investigators say the son of the husband and wife involved in the shooting at a hospital in Stratford, New Jersey on Wednesday was found shot to death at their home.

The body of 35-year-old Ryan Wychowanec was found at the Glendora home of the couple, 63-year-old Raymond Wychowanec and 62-year-old Denise Wychowanec.

The body was discovered at the home in the 800 block of Price Avenue after police conducted a well-being check after the hospital shooting.

Police say Raymond Wychowanec shot and killed Denise Wychowanec in a second floor room in Kennedy University Hospital on East Laurel Road on Wednesday morning.

According to investigators, Raymond Wychowanec came to visit his wife around 9:25 a.m. Then, around 10:10 a.m., medical staff heard gunshots.

They entered the room and, as they did, investigators say that's when Raymond Wychowanec shot himself.

Police say the Raymond Wychowanec is still alive and was flown to Cooper University Hospital in critical condition.

The circumstances remain under investigation. Investigators say they are analyzing evidence to confirm the two shootings are related.

There was no evidence of any kind of altercation before the shooting, authorities said, nor did Raymond Wychowanec appear to be agitated while entering the hospital.

Neighbors said the couple mainly kept to themselves and the wife was often in a wheelchair.

Cindy Ivins, a Glendora resident, has known the family nearly 20 years. She says the wife was in a car accident years ago, leaving her mostly homebound. She says the family was deeply stressed from the medical expenses.

"The bills were piling up. I know he had to sell his parents' house to pay some of the medical bills," Ivins explained.

"He was struggling. He was on a pension - he'd retired and was working at Walmart struggling to make ends meet," she said.

Meanwhile, Action News talked to a man who was also visiting his wife on the second floor. He said he was rushed out of the hospital, being told the hospital was on lockdown.

He said he later talked to his wife by phone, who told him she heard a couple of gunshots in the hallway. There were screams and sounds of panic, she told him, but things got quiet very quickly. She is okay.

Action News also talked to Megan Lucas, who was at the hospital to drop her mom off for elective surgery.

"They didn't really tell me much. They just told me there was a shooting, there was a situation but everything was under control," Lucas said.