Person of interest in Burlington County homicide found dead in Pennsylvania
Authorities say Peter Lestician, the last known person to have seen Sheila Maguire, of Florence, alive, has been found dead in Cooper Township in Clearfield, Pa.
A man identified as a person of interest in the death of a South Jersey woman Monday has been found dead in Pennsylvania, possibly from a suicide, authorities said Saturday.
Peter Lestician was the last known person to have seen Sheila Maguire alive before she was killed inside her Florence home, said Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Florence Township Police Chief Brian Boldizar. The two had been in a relationship and lived together, authorities said.
Authorities said Lestician’s body was found Friday afternoon in a vehicle by an abandoned barn near an ATV trail in Cooper Township in Clearfield County, about 250 miles from Florence. Two men riding four-wheelers in the area discovered the body and called Pennsylvania State Police.
Troopers reported no signs of foul play. The body was found in the front seat of the locked vehicle, authorities said. Lestician’s New Jersey driver’s license was found in the vehicle, authorities said.
Bradshaw said an autopsy would be performed to determine the cause and manner of death and confirm the identity. Burlington County detectives are obtaining permission to forensically examine the vehicle, she said.
Authorities said Lestician, a teacher at South Brunswick High School, had not made contact with relatives since Aug. 26. Although he was a person of interest in Maguire’s homicide, there was no evidence linking him directly to her death and no charges had been filed against him, the prosecutor said.
Maguire, 54, was found at her home in the 200 block of Birch Hollow Drive after family members requested a wellness check because they were unable to reach her for several days, authorities said. An autopsy performed by Ian Hood, the Burlington County medical examiner, determined that she died from blunt-force trauma to the head, authorities said.
A mother of two, Maguire was mourned on social media as a good friend and advocate against child abuse. A former coworker at Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey created a GoFundMe page for Maguire’s children.
“Sheila was a light! She was fun, positive, uplifting and supportive,” Christine Conklin wrote. “Unfortunately, she was senselessly taken from all of us, but her daughters will carry the weight of this traumatic event forever.”