COMMERCIAL TOWNSHIP — State Police said Thursday they are officially listing the recent deaths of a husband and wife found shot in their bed as a murder-suicide.
Autopsy results and other forensic evidence indicate that Stacy Rector first shot her husband and then killed their two dogs before shooting herself, State Police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said.
The autopsies show that Stacy Rector, 28, and her 30-year-old husband, Scott, both died from single gunshot wounds to their heads, he said. He would not comment on what other evidence led State Police to rule the incident as a murder-suicide.
Jones said authorities are still trying to determine what caused Stacy Rector to shoot her husband and their two dogs.
State Police said earlier they found what they described as a suicide note inside the Rectors’ home in the 7200 block of Samuel Drive in the township’s Laurel Lake section. Jones would not release the content of that note
State Police said they also found a semi-automatic handgun at the scene.
Scott Rector worked as a laborer/truck driver for the township’s Public Works Department.
State Police said a township employee went to the Rectors’ house at about 6 p.m. Aug. 15 because Scott Rector had not shown up for work since the previous 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 deaths shocked the couple’s friends and neighbors, who said the Rectors gave no indication of being unhappy.
The incident is under investigation by State Police and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office. State Police patrol the township, which has no municipal police department.
Contact Thomas Barlas:
609-226-9197
