Former New Jersey county clerk Joan Bramhall, 74, and her husband, John, were found dead inside their home, in what is believed to be a case of murder-suicide, authorities said Friday.
Cops were dispatched to the couple's Denville home after a relative reported a dead person in the property around 10 a.m. Thursday, CBS News reported. They later discovered a second body in the house, however, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office refused to identify the victims until Friday.
Daily Record said, one daughter-in-law was staying with the couple but was not present at the time of the incident.
Autopsy results revealed that Joan Bramhall, a retired New Jersey Republican official who previously worked with Governor Chris Christie, was shot to death while her husband died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the prosecutor's office said in a statement, Reuters has learned.
It was not clear however whether John Bramhall shot his wife, although the statement noted there was no indication of intrusion in the home and that the community is free from any threat.
No further details were disclosed.
Joan Bramhall had been a longtime member of the Morris County Republican Committee and had previously served as its chairwoman for six years. She reportedly retired as county clerk in December, after 15 years of service.
According to Star Ledger, she and her husband John, had owned a construction company responsible for the numerous big homes in their neighborhood.
"It's a damn tragedy. God, she just retired. She had done so much - county clerk, chairwoman of the Republican Party, a great supporter of me as I was of her," Senator Anthony Bucco reportedly said.
"We considered her a dear friend and we are terribly saddened by her tragic passing," Christie, who was also shocked of Joan Bramhall's sudden death tweeted on Friday.
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