The man wanted for the double shooting of two New Jersey corrections officers has died after committing suicide.
Ralph Johnson, 60, was discovered lying in the Ewingville Cemetery in West Trenton, N.J. with a gunshot wound to the head Wednesday afternoon, police say. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment, but later died.
Johnson was wanted for the shooting of Nick and Joanne Nicholson in the early morning Wednesday.
The Nicholsons were pulling away from their Hamilton, N.J. home for work around 5 a.m. when Johnson allegedly fire more than a dozen shots at the couple's SUV, police say.
Laughfield, 48, died after being shot in arm and groin. His wife, Joanne, 46, was rushed to Capital Health System - Fuld in critical condition, officials said. She suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and side.
"She's doing better," the woman's cousin Hakeem Mohammed said. "She's fine, she's going to be okay."
Johnson and Joanne Nicholson had a past relationship and have a 15-year-old daughter. They are also neighbors, according to Mercer County officials.
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Investigators believe Johnson was angry at Joanne after he was ordered by the court to pay additional child support. Their daughter was the person
Johnson fled the scene following the shooting. Neighbor Vernon Washington says Joanne called to him for help as she lay on the ground.
"Joanne called me 'Vernon, Vernon, come here, come here', you know, so I went to her," he said.
The man believes Laughfield tried to shield the woman from the gunshots.
