A New Jersey state trooper fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend before killing himself, following months of stalking and harassment after their breakup, authorities revealed Monday.Franklin Township police responded to a Pittstown home around 12.20 pm on Saturday after receiving a report of an unconscious woman. Inside, officers found 33-year-old Lauren Semanchik and 29-year-old Tyler Webb dead from gunshot wounds in what Hunterdon County prosecutors described as a “targeted attack.”Detectives quickly identified Semanchik’s ex-boyfriend, New Jersey State Police Lt Ricardo Santos, 45, as the prime suspect. Santos was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his 2008 white Mercedes in Piscataway, about 50 miles away. A semiautomatic handgun, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered at the scene, reported the New York Post..Santos had previously served as a supervisor on governor Phil Murphy’s protection detail. Semanchik, a veterinarian, had recently reported being stalked by Santos. She had installed cameras in her car for safety. Footage from her rear camera captured Santos’ vehicle closely following her from her workplace in Long Valley to her home on Friday evening. She arrived home shortly before 6 pm, and 10 minutes later, someone emerged from the woods bordering her driveway. Webb arrived nearly 30 minutes later and parked next to her vehicle.Investigators also revealed that police had received a 911 call from the area of Semanchik’s home the previous night, reporting “audible gunshots and screaming.” Officers were unable to determine the source of the noises at the time.Semanchik’s family told CBS News, as cited by The New York Post, it was her father who discovered the bodies the following day. “She was shot in the back,” said her sister, Deanna Semanchik. “She gave so much of her life to other people and she deserved so much better.”The family recounted how Semanchik and Santos had dated for only three months before she ended the relationship in September 2024. “She tried to block him many times and he continued to call her from restricted numbers. He showed up at her work, that’s where the car was keyed,” said Deanna. “He put recording devices in her home, water in her gas tank. He harassed her left and right.”Their mother, Jeannine Semanchik, said her daughter repeatedly sought help from law enforcement but received no protection. “A lot of agencies failed her. She tried to get restraining orders. Nobody called her back,” she said.Hunterdon county prosecutor Renee Robeson confirmed the case is being treated as a domestic violence-related double homicide.
