Murder in South Jersey

A man who had feuded for years with his next-door neighbor shot him to death Thursday before committing suicide, authorities said.

Hugh Stewart, 59, opened fire on neighbor Michael K. Walsh, 45, as Walsh was taking his dog for a morning walk, according to Atlantic County Prosecutor Jeffrey Blitz.

Stewart, a former cable company employee on disability, then walked to a dock behind his property and shot himself with two guns at once. He was found floating in the Intracoastal Waterway by police responding to 911 calls about the gunshots.

Walsh, a test engineer for Conectiv power company, was found on the sidewalk nearby in a puddle of blood. He had been shot twice in the face.

An autopsy by Medical Examiner Dr. Hydow Park found that Stewart shot himself in the head with two guns simultaneously. He had gunshot wounds to the left and right temple, and two bullets were recovered from his head, Blitz said.

He also had water in his lungs from the bay, Blitz said.

It was the second murder-suicide in four days in Atlantic County. On Monday, Gary Heiland, 48, of Galloway Township killed himself after killing three people and wounding three others.

Stewart, a Vietnam veteran who lived by himself, had numerous run-ins with Walsh and Walsh's family dating to 1996, with complaints to police involving noise, harassment and aggravated assault.

In July 2002, Stewart told police Walsh's son, Christopher Walsh, broke Stewart's jaw during an altercation, according to police records.

Two weeks later, Christopher Walsh accused Stewart in a complaint of pushing him in the chest. Twelve days after that, Stewart filed a harassment complaint against Michael Walsh, saying Walsh had unleashed a German shepherd on Stewart's property and said, "What are you going to do about it?"

"We never thought it would come to this," said Thomas Walsh, 74, the victim's father. "Mike was a hard worker and a good father and he never hurt anybody. This guy was just a flake. Who can understand this kind of a situation?"

But one neighbor who knew Stewart for years described him as quiet, pleasant man who had a heart problem.

"He was a good guy, a quiet guy, he didn't like when dogs barked but he didn't fight with his neighbors. The only trouble he had was with this guy," said the neighbor, who would not give her name, gesturing toward Walsh's home.

Last April, an explosion and fire leveled Stewart's two-story bayfront home, severely burning his hands. A preliminary investigation blamed it on misuse of gasoline; Ventnor fire officials did not respond to inquiries about the cause of that fire on Thursday.

The fire damaged siding on one side of Walsh's house. But it wasn't clear whether something happened more recently to trigger the shooting, Blitz said.

Investigators found a brown plastic bag containing gun-cleaning equipment and ammunition for a .25 caliber weapon on the lot where Stewart's house once stood, which is strewn with rocks and trash.

Two .25-caliber pistols were recovered from the water, along with one shell casing. Two shell casings were found next to Walsh's body.

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Author: NBC 10/AP