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Police await results of two farm workers' autopsies

New Jersey State Police are awaiting the results of autopsies conducted on two workers discovered bludgeoned Saturday at a Burlington County farm.

New Jersey State Police are awaiting the results of autopsies conducted on two workers discovered bludgeoned Saturday at a Burlington County farm.

Police are treating the men's deaths as possible homicides.

The bodies were found around 8:30 a.m. at the Sterling Chase Horse Farm, a racehorse-breeding facility in Springfield Township, according to State Police Sgt. Julian Castellanos. Both men suffered head trauma, he said.

Officials have released few details about the victims, whom they have not identified. Police believe they may have been natives of Central America or northern South America. Sources said the men had worked at the farm, a year-round facility, about four years.

A person at Sterling Chase who answered the phone said, "No comment," and hung up. The 145-acre farm, located at 100 Highland Rd. in the township's Jobstown section, breeds stallions and offers stud services. It is protected under the county's Farmland Preservation Program, according to a town official.

The last murder in predominantly rural Springfield Township was roughly 20 years ago, according to a police department employee. The 30-square-mile municipality has about 3,500 residents. The state police help patrol the area and retain jurisdiction in the current investigation.