NJ Radio Host's Murder Not Random: Prosecutor

April Kauffman, who was well-known in the South Jersey community, was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside a bedroom in her Linwood home

The day after New Jersey radio host April Kauffman was found dead in her bedroom -- shot multiple times -- police said they do not think it was random. The Atlantic County prosecutor answered a question at a Friday afternoon briefing about whether people in the community should fear that a killer is on the loose:

"I don't think the citizens of Linwood should be running around panicked," said Ted Housel, prosecutor.

Police Chief Robert James added, "If we were aware, if we thought there were a larger problem, we'd be taking more steps, but at this present moment, I think what we are doing now is appropriate."

Investigators also revealed that Kauffman, 47, may have been murdered up to 12 hours before her body was found inside her Linwood home on Woodstock Drive on Thursday.

A 9-1-1 call came in at 11:30 a.m. from a worker inside the house, who may have been there to feed the family's parakeets, neighbors tell NBC10. That worker  discovered Kauffman's body inside her bedroom, according to a release issued by the Prosecutor's Office. Kauffman had been shot multiple times.

Kaufmann was well-know in the community. She owned a salon and catering business, and she could be heard on the radio at WOND 1400 A.M., where she often co-hosted a Sunday afternoon show.

On Friday, Kauffman's murder was the subject of call-ins to the radio station, according to NBC10's Terry Ruggles, who was there talking with some of the folks who knew and worked with the victim.

Prosecutor Housel said that Kauffman's autopsy had been completed but that he was not ready to release the results.

Kauffman was a long-time volunteer of Operation Fireside. As a volunteer, she would host Coast Guard recruits from the Training Center in Cape May inside her home for Thanksgiving dinner.

Friends say she devoted much of her time to helping veterans. "She loved the sacrifice that our military provided for our freedom and security," said Harry Hurley, friend and radio host. "I can't think of anybody that would want to do harm to April because all she ever did was help people and she didn't do it in a way that should have garnered any enemies," Hurley told NBC10.

No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666.

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