Coroner Confirms Murder-Suicide

Authorities in Camden County confirmed Wednesday that three of four bodies discovered in a Magnolia, N.J. home Tuesday died as a result of a murder-suicide. The medical examiner's office said that exact manner of the fourth victim's death was pending further investigation.

In a statement, Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi said that Steven Lee Wasserman, 44, and his son, Michael Wasserman, 8, were found dead in an SUV in a garage attached to a house.

Sarubbi said positive identification of a third victim, believed to be Wasserman's 33-year-old former girlfriend, was expected to take place later Wednesday.

He also said that although the fourth victim couldn't be positively identified, but his office believed it was Wasserman's 10-year-old daughter.

The decomposing bodies of the family of four were found Tuesday in what authorities described as a murder-suicide.

The statement said that a preliminary investigation concluded that Steven Wasserman bludgeoned the woman to death with a blunt instrument, and he killed his son and himself by running the engine of his 1985 Chevrolet Blazer in the attached garage, resulting in carbon-monoxide poisoning.

The children were elementary-school age, said Lynne Nerone, the family's next-door neighbor. She said the family often allowed children to play in the backyard pool.

"My son was over there every day," Nerone said.

Police went to the home after receiving reports of an "unusual situation" there, Sarubbi said.

Sarubbi also said that the bodies were discovered in a significant state of decomposition.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: NBC 10/AP