A New Jersey State Police lieutenant shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend before taking his own life, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities say Ricardo Santos fatally shot Lauren Semanchik and Tyler Webb on Aug. 1 at a home in Franklin Township, New Jersey. Santos was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a 2008 Mercedes SUV in Piscataway.
Investigators revealed that Santos had previously been in a relationship with Semanchik, which ended in September 2024. After the breakup, he reportedly displayed a pattern of “continued harassing and controlling behavior,” according to prosecutors.
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Semanchik, a veterinarian, had recently begun dating Webb at the time of the shooting.
Authorities reviewed surveillance footage from Semanchik’s car, which showed she was being followed on Aug. 1 by the same Mercedes SUV in which Santos was later discovered. After she parked at her residence, a person was seen walking through a wooded area near the driveway. Roughly 30 minutes later, Webb arrived and parked beside her vehicle.
On Aug. 2, officers responded to Semanchik’s home after receiving a report of an unconscious woman. Investigators later learned that the night before, multiple 911 callers had reported hearing gunshots and screaming, though police were initially unable to pinpoint the location.
