COMMERCIAL TOWNSHIP — Authorities said Friday they continue to search for the cause of what they said may be the murder-suicide of a husband and wife who neighbors and friends called a happy, loving couple.
The bodies of 30-year-old Scott Rector and his 28-year-old wife, Stacy, were found in their bed Wednesday evening, both the victims of gunshots, State Police said.
State Police said Thursday morning that Stacy Rector killed her husband, fatally shot their two dogs, Boomer and Jiggs, and then shot herself. They said later in the day that they were still trying to determine which person was the shooter.
Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said the investigation is made difficult by that fact that there are no witnesses.
“Unless you are there, you don’t know what happened,” she said. “You make the best-educated determination based on what the evidence tells you.”
State Police said Thursday they found what they called a suicide note in the Rector’s mobile home in the 7200 block of Samuel Drive, which is located in a quiet, wooded part of the township’s Laurel Lake section. State Police also said they found a semi-automatic handgun in the home.
Webb-McRae said authorities are waiting for initial autopsy reports. Those results might spur the need for additional toxicology tests, she said.
Scott Rector worked as a labor-truck driver for the township’s Public Works Department.
State Police said a township employee went to the Rectors’ house about 6 p.m. on Wednesday because Scott Rector had not shown up for work since last week. They said the employee and another man entered the house after smelling a bad odor and found the Rectors in their bed.
Stacy Rector was unemployed. She had recently graduated from nursing school.
The Rectors were both graduates of Millville High School.
The investigation into the Rectors' death is an joint endeavor by State Police and the Prosecutor’s Office. State Police are involved because they patrol the township, which has no local police department.
Contact Thomas Barlas:
609-226-9197
