2 Corrections employees dead in possible murder-suicide

BRIDGETON - Authorities say the deaths of a man and woman found Saturday night in a Bridgeton home appear to be the result of a murder-suicide.

A concerned family friend called police, who found the bodies of Joseph P. Williams, 43, and Stephanie Myers, 45, in the basement of a Hopewell Road home about 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the Bridgeton Police Department.

Both were employed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections and lived at the home, which is in the western end of Bridgeton, police said.

Melanie Weiss, a spokeswoman for the NJDOC, said the department is only confirming employment details on the two dead officers and is not commenting on any possible investigation, she said.

Weiss said Williams was a senior investigator at Southern State Correctional Facility in Delmont. Williams had been at the prison since November 2014. The DOC hired him in June 1997.

Weiss said Myers was a senior corrections officer at Bayside State Prison in nearby Leesburg. She had been at Bayside since September 2005 and was hired in June 2005.

More:Bridgeton police find gunshot victim bleeding from knees, foot

More:Seeking two of Cumberland County's Most Wanted

Authorities said Williams and Myers were killed by gunshot wounds.

Police Chief Michael Gaimari said the investigation indicates Williams shot Myers before turning the gun on himself, but stressed that detectives are continuing to investigate.

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said she is awaiting the results of autopsies.