The discovery of three dead siblings in a South Jersey home has rattled a quiet neighborhood
William Monk, 64, Randolph Monk, 69, and Rosalind Monk, 71, were found dead inside the home last week. The cause and manner of their deaths remain under investigation.
Last week, a mail carrier in Mount Holly, N.J., arrived at a dilapidated single-story home to find the mailbox sealed shut with clear tape. Then he made an even more unusual discovery.
“9-1-1 inside″ said a note taped to the front door, paired with a drawing of two frowning faces with x’s instead of eyes.
What Mount Holly police eventually found inside 3 Winding Way has continued to shock the quiet suburban community.
William Monk, 64, Randolph Monk, 69, and Rosalind Monk, 71, were dead inside the home, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The cause and manner of their deaths have not been released as the medical examiner’s office continues its examination.
A spokesperson for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment, citing the pending result of the autopsies. Mount Holly police referred questions to prosecutors. There is no active threat to the community, the department said in a Facebook post.
A neighbor said the Monks were siblings who had lived in the declining property for years.
They kept to themselves and rarely left home or interacted with neighbors, according to Chris Wyatt, who has lived next door since 2013. Wyatt said he had no reason to believe anything was amiss in the home, though he found it impossible to ignore the failing condition of the property in recent years.
“We’re just in shock,” Wyatt said of his neighbors’ deaths.
A piece of crime scene tape hung in a tree outside of the Monks’ home Wednesday when The Inquirer spoke to neighbors. Some lawns still had skeletons and gravestone decorations up from Halloween, flags for Philadelphia sports teams, garages brimming with bicycles, and other signals of suburban life were abundant.
3 Winding Way bore none of those signs.
The light blue home’s front porch was caved in, propped up by temporary metal beams, and windows and siding were damaged. An overgrown bush partially obstructed the front door where the mail carrier discovered the chilling note.
Wyatt said the Monk siblings did not have a car and sometimes rode the bus to work. One of the brothers had worked at a nearby Boscov’s for a time, he said. Rosalind Monk worked as a crossing guard and had retired.
Another male sibling, “the most personable” of the group, also lived at the home but died years ago, Wyatt said.
He remains curious to learn what happened inside the home as prosecutors and law enforcement continue their investigation, as well as what will become of the unsightly property.
The knowledge that three people had died there under unusual circumstances has not brought comfort to the father of young children.
“I’ve lived here over 10 years,” Wyatt said. “I never got the inclination that something like this was even possible.”
