Death of Washington Crossing man ruled a homicide

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (WPVI) -- A death investigation in Bucks County has sent shock waves through an entire community.

The District Attorney's Office has confirmed that the death in Washington Crossing was a homicide.

They are not releasing many details or specifics about the case, which comes as a shock to residents in the quiet riverfront community.

"Never bothered anybody. Just friendly. Would walk down the road and talk to everybody, just like everybody around here," said neighbor Pat Allibone.

Allibone and her husband Tom live just a few doors down from the house on River Road in Washington Crossing where police are investigating the death of a man identified by neighbors and sources as 64-year-old Michael McNew.

The pharmaceutical executive was found dead in his Delaware River front home on Tuesday.

"Obviously, I was stunned. I mean shocked, to say the least. I've known Mike from being a neighbor and everything and he has a dock in the back so I see him once in a while on the water," said Tom Allibone.

Neighbors say McNew lived in the house with a woman in her 30s, a motorcycle mechanic named Jen, and that the pair shared a love of jet skiing on the river.

"They were on the water every day, it seems like, last year. All of a sudden this year, things changed. So, I don't know if that was because of Mike having some kind of condition of sorts. But I'll tell you I'm just shocked because Mike was a really nice guy," Tom said.

The death is being investigated by Upper Makefield Police and detectives from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. They will not release any information about Michael McNew's death.

We do know a dive team from Trenton Fire Department searched the river for evidence near the house Wednesday evening.

The only thing police will say is that McNew's death does not appear to be a random act, and that the public is not in danger.

"He was a great neighbor, and I'm just stunned. I have no idea what happened but I'm shocked like everybody else in the neighborhood," said Tom.

"You just don't expect something like that around here. But now with the other incident that happened, Bucks County is getting as its fair share of news I guess right now," says Pat.

The investigation is continuing, but as mentioned, police are being tightlipped.

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