NY surgeon Timothy Jorden's personality 'shifted' prior to ex-girlfriend's alleged shooting death, neighbors say
(CBS/AP) BUFFALO, N.Y. - Neighbors said they suspected something was wrong when the once meticulous trauma surgeon Timothy Jorden began putting less effort into his work, his appearance and even the landscaping at his home. They now wonder if the odd "shift" in his personality is somehow connected to the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend Jacqueline Wisniewski.
The manhunt for Jorden, 49, began Wednesday morning when 33-year-old Wisniewski was found shot to death in a stairwell on the campus of the Erie County Medical Center where they both worked. Police said the administrative assistant was shot four times.
Neighbors of the Lakeview neighborhood south of Buffalo noticed something was off when Jorden began putting less effort into things he previously approached with such care. The affable doctor also became less friendly and dropped about 75 pounds, they said.
"He said, `Yeah, I lost a little bit.' But it was more than a little bit. It was a lot," said neighbor June DuPree. "He wasn't too friendly that time I saw him. He just didn't want to talk."
Jordan also spent a lot of money to keep the grounds of his white, gabled home manicured and lush, according to neighbors. But this spring, Jorden's bushes became overgrown, his grass grew knee-high and a kitchen remodeling job was halted.
"He had a lot of money invested in his house and the landscaping. And when I came back from Florida in May, it was really neglected. I was just shocked," said neighbor Tom Wrzosek. "We presumed he was sick, that maybe he had some sort of major ailment,"
"He was sick," Wrzosek said. "But not in the way we thought he was sick."
Police across the country have been on the lookout for Jorden since Thursday. They said the former Army weapons expert may be armed and should be considered dangerous.
Police Capt. James Speyer said Jorden was previously involved in two domestic incidents in neighboring Cheektowaga in 2003, but couldn't release any further details. However, the incidents did not involve Wisniewski.
Heather Shipley, a friend of Wisniewski's, told CBS-affiliate WIVB-TV that Wisniewski feared Jorden and that he wouldn't let go when she left him after believing he was having affairs with other women.
She said Wisniewski told her Jorden put a GPS tracking device in her car and once held her captive in her home for a day and a half, wielding a knife.
"She told me if anything happened to her, that it was him," Shipley told WIVB-TV.