Sherry Lee Heffernan, 57, of Pennsylvania was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in New Jersey State Prison in connection with the murders of John Enders and Francois Pitoy in Surf City on or about September 29, 2021.
Heffernan was found guilty on March 1, 2024, following a nearly four-week-long jury trial before Judge Rahill.
On October 3, 2021, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Officers from the Surf City Police Department responded to a residence on North 7th Street to conduct a welfare check on the residents.
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When they arrived, Officers located the bodies of John Enders, 87, of Surf City, and Francoise Pitoy, 75, of Manchester; it was apparent that both victims were already deceased.
On October 4, 2021, the Ocean County Medical Examiner performed a post-mortem examination of Mr. Enders and determined the cause of his death to be multiple stab wounds with severance of the right carotid artery and blunt force trauma; the manner of death was ruled to be a homicide.
"A post-mortem examination of Ms. Pitoy performed on October 5, 2021, determined the cause of her death to be multiple stab wounds as well as a gunshot wound to the face; the manner of her death was likewise ruled a homicide," said the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
"Based upon the gunshot wound to Ms. Pitoy, the Medical Examiner performed an additional examination of Mr. Enders and found that he had also suffered a gunshot wound to the face," said OCPO.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Surf City Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that the victims were involved in a dating relationship, and that Mr. Enders was the primary owner of the residence.
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Ms. Pitoy stayed with him at the residence regularly. The cooperative investigation ultimately determined that Heffernan - Mr. Enders’ daughter - was responsible for the deaths of both Mr. Enders and Ms. Pitoy.
Interviews with neighbors and relatives revealed that Heffernan and her sister had recently been removed from her father’s will, according to an affidavit written by Surf City Police Detective Sgt. Victor Rice, NJ.com reported.
On October 4, 2021, the Pennsylvania State Police took Heffernan into custody at her residence in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. On October 20, 2021, she was returned to New Jersey and has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since that date.
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“This defendant will spend the rest of her life in prison. This is an appropriate sentence and we are hopeful that this brings some measure of closure to the family and friends of John and Francois,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.
First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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