By Chris Sheldon
nj.com
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A New Jersey State Police trooper who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and a man she was recently dating before taking his own life had followed her home from her job before killing both of them, investigators said.
On Saturday at 12:22 p.m., Franklin Township police officers responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious woman with apparent physical trauma at the Upper Kingtown Road home in the Pittstown section of the township, according to a statement from the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police found Lauren Semanchik, 33, of Pittstown, and Tyler Webb, 29, of Forked River, dead from gunshot wounds from a semiautomatic firearm, in what investigators have confirmed was a targeted act, the office said.
Detectives learned that at 7:08 p.m. on Friday, Hunterdon County Communications received 911 calls reporting audible gunshots and screaming in the area of Upper Kingtown Road.
Franklin Township Police Department responded, checked the area, but did not locate the source of the gunshots or screaming, authorities said.
As the investigation continued, detectives learned that Semanchik, a local veterinarian, and Webb, a volunteer firefighter in Berkeley Township, recently began dating, officials said. Semanchik previously dated Ricardo Jorge Santos, a sergeant first class of the New Jersey State Police.
After ending her relationship with Santos around September 2024, Semanchik alleged that Santos engaged in continued harassing and controlling behavior, leading detectives to believe he may have been involved in their deaths, the office said.
As this information was being developed, detectives were notified that Santos was found dead alone and inside a white 2008 Mercedes SUV in Johnson Park in Piscataway, investigators said. Santos died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A semiautomatic handgun was also located inside the SUV.
Detectives also learned that Semanchik installed a video surveillance recording system in her vehicle, which they accessed and reviewed, authorities said.
The footage showed Semanchik’s vehicle leaving her job in Long Valley at 5:25 p.m. on Friday and a white 2008 Mercedes SUV leaving a parking space and closely following Semanchik until she turns into the driveway of her home at approximately 5:57 p.m., the office said.
At 6:11 p.m., while Semanchik’s vehicle is parked, a person is seen surreptitiously walking through the wooded area along the driveway leading up to the residence, officials said. Around 6:45 p.m., Webb’s car pulled up to the home next to Semanchik’s vehicle.
Detectives also discovered that the same white 2008 Mercedes SUV that followed Semanchik’s vehicle, and in which Santos’ deceased body was later found, had traveled to Piscataway later that evening, investigators said.
Lauren’s mother, Jennine Semanchik, told NJ Advance Media that her daughter broke both of her feet in late 2023 and met Santos online in early 2024. She used a wheelchair during her rehabilitation and said Santos was initially a wonderful boyfriend.
He relished helping her and took her on “wheelchair dates,” Jennine Semanchik , who met Santos several times, said.
When her daughter had recovered later that year, the relationship ended, Semanchik said.
But Santos reached out relentlessly, to the point that Lauren Semanchik called local police seeking to file a restraining order. One was not issued, she said.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of Dr. Lauren Semanchik and Tyler Webb, whose lives were tragically taken in an act of domestic violence,” Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée Robeson said in a statement. “This senseless and devastating loss has deeply affected our entire community.”
The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Sgt. David Petelle or Det. Quayshaun Brooks at 908-788-1129.
Editor’s Note: Reach the New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), chat with their advocates here or text LOVEIS to 22522.
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