Franklin Township, NJ – A New Jersey State Police sergeant first class is believed to have fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend before taking his own life, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities say Dr. Lauren Semanchik, 33, a local veterinarian, and Tyler Webb, 29, a volunteer firefighter from Forked River, were found dead from gunshot wounds outside Semanchik’s Upper Kingtown Road home in Franklin Township on Saturday, August 2.
Investigators identified the suspect as Sgt. 1st Class Ricardo Jorge Santos, 37, who was later found dead in a white 2008 Mercedes SUV at Johnson Park in Piscataway from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A handgun was recovered inside the vehicle.
Detectives learned Semanchik had ended her relationship with Santos in September 2024 and had since accused him of harassment and controlling behavior. Surveillance video from Semanchik’s vehicle showed the Mercedes SUV following her from work in Long Valley to her home on August 1. Later that evening, footage captured a person walking through the woods toward the residence before Webb arrived.
Police also confirmed that the same Mercedes seen trailing Semanchik was the one Santos was later found in. Prosecutors described the killings as an act of domestic violence and stressed there is no ongoing danger to the public.
Key Points
- Dr. Lauren Semanchik and Tyler Webb shot dead outside Franklin Township home
- Suspect, NJ State Trooper Ricardo Santos, later found dead from apparent suicide in Piscataway
- Prosecutors call it a targeted act of domestic violence
A deadly chain of events left a veterinarian, her boyfriend, and a state trooper dead in what authorities say was a domestic violence-driven double murder-suicide.