MONTGOMERY, NJ — Police in Montgomery Township are investigating the deaths of three people found inside a home on Wild Azalea Lane after a welfare check call led officers to the property Thursday afternoon.
Investigators say the dead were two women and one adult man, all found with gunshot wounds when officers were finally able to enter the house shortly before 6 p.m. Friday. Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said authorities believe the case may be a double murder-suicide.
Medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Somerset, later pronounced all three people dead at the scene. The names of the victims have not yet been released while officials work to confirm their identities.
How officers were first alerted to the Wild Azalea Lane home
The case began Thursday afternoon when Montgomery Township police received a request to check on the welfare of the residents at the home. Officers went to the address but could not make contact with anyone inside.
That initial visit led detectives to begin trying to determine where the residents were and whether anyone inside the house needed help. Authorities did not immediately say why the welfare check was requested, and they have not released any details about the residents before the discovery.
According to McDonald, police continued working the case through the next day before getting inside the home on Friday evening. Once entry was made, the investigation shifted from a welfare concern to a death investigation involving multiple agencies.
Two women were found in separate bedrooms
When officers entered the home, they found two dead women in separate bedrooms. McDonald said both appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.
Investigators also found an adult man inside the home with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was reportedly found with a gun, adding to the suspicion that the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide.
Officials have not said how the three people were related to one another or whether they all lived at the residence. The county prosecutor’s office said it is still working to establish the full sequence of events inside the home.
Multiple agencies are now handling the investigation
The investigation includes Montgomery Township police, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit and medical investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
That team is working alongside the medical examiner’s office to complete a postmortem examination, which is scheduled to help positively identify the victims and determine the cause and manner of death. Officials have said the identities will remain private until those identifications are confirmed.
The case remains active, and police said no further information will be released at this time. That means investigators are still sorting out both the timeline and the circumstances that led to the deaths inside the Montgomery home.
What authorities have said about the victims and the gunshot wounds
So far, officials have confirmed only that the victims were two women and one man and that all three were found dead with apparent gunshot injuries. McDonald said the man appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The announcement did not identify the weapon beyond saying the man was found with a gun. Authorities also have not publicly described the condition of the home beyond its location on Wild Azalea Lane.
Because the identifications are pending, investigators have not released ages, family connections or any other personal details about the dead. The prosecutor’s office said the medical examiner’s findings will be important in confirming exactly how each person died.
Residents are being asked to help detectives with information
Anyone with information about the case is being asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Montgomery Police Department at 908-359-3222. Tips may also be submitted through OPS Tips.
Authorities said information can be shared through the Somerset County Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS, which is 1-888-577-8477. Officials said all tips will be kept confidential.
The investigation has drawn attention in a community where police are now trying to piece together what happened in the hours between the welfare check request and the discovery of the three bodies. For now, the county prosecutor’s office says the case remains under active review.
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