Cops: Former N.J. county clerk dead in murder-suicide

DENVILLE, N.J.- Authorities have confirmed that a former Morris County clerk who was well-known in Republican political circles was shot to death in her home by her husband, who then committed suicide.

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said in a release Friday that Joan Bramhall died as a result of a gunshot wound and that John Bramhall died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police in Denville were called to the scene Thursday morning after a family member reported finding one of the bodies. Police didn't find any evidence of intrusion into the house.

Joan Bramhall was 74 and retired in December after serving 15 years as county clerk. Friends tell The Daily Record of Parsippany she had been treated for cancer several years ago.