Investigators have ruled murder, suicide and arson as the source of a Jersey Shore house fire last week that claimed the lives of a family of four, including two small children.
Firefighters found Lyndon Beharry, 35, and his common-law wife Amanda Morris, 29, as well as the couple’s two sons Brandon, 7, and Brian, 4, unresponsive Tuesday night, after flames engulfed the second floor of their Long Branch home.
Police say the foursome was transported to and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, then later determined to have suffered mortal injuries completely unrelated to the fire.
This weekend, following an intense investigation of the deadly incident, prosecutors announced that three of the deceased family members had first died of gunshot wounds in a triple homicide perpetrated by the fourth, who then took his own life.
The motive for familial murder, suicide and arson -- a crime generally committed by extreme abusers -- is still being probed, although progress is somewhat hindered by the fact that the victims only recently moved to the area.
“They were fairly new to the neighborhood,” a neighbor told reporters for NJ[dot]com. “I just knew they had kids,” he said. “This is very sad.”
