Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Florence Township Police Chief Brian Boldizar announced that the last known person to have seen Sheila Maguire alive before she was killed inside her Florence home is believed to have been found dead yesterday in Pennsylvania, perhaps from an apparent suicide.
A body preliminarily identified as Peter Lestician, 53, who had been in a relationship with Maguire, was discovered in a vehicle by an abandoned barn near an ATV trail in Cooper Township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers were called to the scene yesterday at approximately 4 p.m. by two men riding four-wheelers in the area. Upon arrival, they discovered the body of an adult male in the front seat of the vehicle, which was locked. The troopers reported no signs of foul play.
Lestician’s New Jersey driver’s license was located in the vehicle. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death, and also to confirm the identity.
Maguire, 54, was found dead late Monday afternoon after family members requested a wellness check at her residence because they had been unable to reach her for a few days. Maguire and Lestician lived together at the home in the 200 block of Birch Hollow Drive.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that she died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Lestician, a teacher at South Brunswick High School, had not made contact with family members since August 26. While he was a person of interest in Maguire’s homicide, there was no evidence linking Lestician directly to the crime and charges had not been filed against him.
The investigation into Maguire’s homicide will continue. BCPO Crime Scene Unit detectives are coordinating with the local district attorney’s office in Pennsylvania to gain permission to forensically examine the vehicle.
The investigation is being conducted by the Florence Township Police Department, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the PA State Police. The lead investigators are FTPD Detective Chris Powell and BCPO Detectives Shawn McDonough and Andrew Ridolfi.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police Public Information Unit the Punxsutawney Patrol Unit, Clearfield County, Officer R. Green investigated a suspicious vehicle on Peale Road in Cooper Township. The occupant of the vehicle was discovered to be deceased white non-Hispanic male, 53 years of age from Bordentown, NJ. The nature of the incident listed was suicide. The report says the investigation is active and no further information can be provided at this time. Note: The policy of the Pennsylvania State Police is to not release the names of victims of suicide or of those suffering a mental health crisis.
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