2 men found dead in Solebury Twp. home

A housekeeper arriving yesterday morning at a Solebury Township home found the two owners shot to death in what Bucks County authorities labeled a murder-suicide.

The woman first found the body of Jerry Rudman, 48, on the floor of the attached garage. He had been shot multiple times, First Assistant District Attorney David Zellis said.

The housekeeper continued upstairs, where she found Joseph Lofft, 50, in the bed of the master bedroom. He had shot himself in the head, Zellis said.

Rudman and Lofft had been life partners for 21 years, jointly owned the home, and had no history of domestic violence, Zellis said. Lofft, however, had been charged with drunken driving early Wednesday, when he crashed his 2006 Infiniti into a guardrail on Aquetong Road about two blocks from home, Solebury Police Chief Dominick Bellizzie said.

Lofft was alone at the time of the 3 a.m. accident, Bellizzie said. After Lofft refused to submit to blood-alcohol testing, his car was impounded and Rudman came to drive him home, the chief said.

It was the last time the two were seen alive, Zellis said, and neither showed up for work Wednesday. He said that Rudman was a certified public accountant and that Lofft worked in pharmaceuticals.

"At this point, we don't know whether anything out of the drunk-driving charge led to anything in the home," Bellizzie said.

Zellis said that three shell casings were found near Rudman's body. Blood, broken furniture and overturned lamps were found inside the house, suggesting a struggle before Rudman's slaying.

It appeared that Lofft, after shooting Rudman, went upstairs, showered, got into bed, and shot himself, Zellis said.

John Cobin, who lives nearby, said he worked with Rudman at Glaxo SmithKline in King of Prussia. "Everyone where we work is shocked," he said. "He didn't show up, he didn't call in, and that's just not like him."

Cobin's wife, Toni, said Rudman "was on top of the world" after a recent promotion and a trip to Australia.

John Cobin said Rudman worked as a global project manager, and described him as "the most lovable, happy-go-lucky, sincere person you could imagine," yet very private about his personal life.

"I didn't even know he had a partner," he said.