Shortly before it was discovered that a family in New Jersey died in an apparent murder-suicide, a mystery caller phoned police to report that something was awry at the family’s $1.7 million home.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said that the caller – who has not been identified – reported something was off at the home of married couple David Grodnick and Lora Grodnick and their daughter, Sloane Grodnick, according to the New York Post. Soon after, authorities reported to the home and found the family members suffering from gunshot wounds to the head on October 1 at 2:59 p.m.
During the call, the caller asked Montgomery Township Police to check on the family. However, it’s not currently clear how the caller knew of the disruption and if they knew the family.
As Us previously reported, officers launched an investigation into the matter when they were unable to reach the Grodnicks while visiting their home after the welfare check was requested.
Officers returned to the home the following day and entered the residence, where they found the bodies of Lora, 62, and Sloane, 24, in two different bedrooms. Police then found David, 61, dead in another area of the home, and his death was ruled as a suicide.
“The investigation, which remains ongoing, has yielded that the homicide deaths of both Lora and Sloane Grodnick were an isolated incident and there are no threats to the public from this tragic occurrence,” the prosecutor’s office said in the news release while announcing the tragedy. “No further information will be available for release at this time.”
Following the murder-suicide, it was revealed that David and Lora moved to the Princeton area because of “the benefits of its school system for their daughter, who has special needs,” according to a lawsuit the couple filed in 2018 that was viewed by The New York Post.
At the time, David sued a real estate agent that he claimed stole his family’s $33,800 deposit for herself after she lured them into a hazardous rental in 2016.
David claimed that the house they rented had arsenic in the well, electricity that “continuously shorted out” and a fireplace in the living room that “emitted carbon monoxide fumes.”
The lengthy case officially concluded in September 2019 when it was dismissed for good “without costs to either party,” per the outlet. The filing did not state if either party admitted to wrongdoing.
Prior to the killings, David worked as a senior vice president and underwriting counsel at Land Services USA. The Philadelphia-based insurance agency works on commercial real estate deals.
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