Morris County Prosecutor Knapp Announces Cause and Manner of Deaths in Fatal Shootings in Denville

Published on August 08, 2014

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp announces the cause and manner of yesterday's two deaths on Arden Road in the Township of Denville, as well as confirming the identities of the two individuals.

As the result of post-mortem examinations conducted today by Deputy Morris County Medical Examiner Carlos Fonseca, the individuals were positively identified as Joan Bramhall, and her husband, John Bramhall. In addition, the post-mortem examinations revealed that Joan Bramhall's manner of death was listed as homicide caused by a gunshot wound inflicted upon her. John Bramhall's manner of death was listed as a suicide caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

On the morning of Thursday, August 7, 2014, Denville Police were dispatched to the Arden Road residence on the report of a family member reporting the discovery of a deceased person in the residence. Upon further examination by responding officers, a second deceased individual was also located in the residence. The ensuing investigation, conducted by the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, the Denville Police Department and the Criminal Investigations Section of the Morris County Sheriff's Office, did not reveal any evidence of outside intrusion into the residence.

Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank Police Chief Christopher Wagner and the Denville Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Section, the Morris County Medical Examiner's Office, the Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety, and members of the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office for their collective assistance in this matter.

Any inquiries may be directed to First Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Zelante at 973-285-6252 or tzelante@co.morris.nj.us. It is not anticipated that any additional press information will be released today.