Authorities have officially identified three family members who were found dead inside a sprawling residence in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, following a tragic incident that shocked the quiet suburban community. According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, the deaths stem from an apparent double murder-.
The grim discovery was made on Friday, October 2, after police entered a home located on Wild Azalea Lane in the Skillman section of the township. Investigators identified the deceased as 62-year-old Lora “Lori” Grodnick and her 24-year-old daughter, Sloane Grodnick, both of whom were found in separate bedrooms with fatal gunshot wounds to the head. The suspect was identified as 61-year-old David Grodnick, who was found dead in the residence with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and a firearm in his possession.
Timeline of the Wellness Check and Police Response
The sequence of events began days before officers ultimately gained entry into the six-bedroom residence. On Wednesday, September 30, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Somerset County dispatch received a 911 call reporting a residential alarm with glass breaking at the Wild Azalea Lane address.
By Thursday, October 1, at around 3:00 p.m., a concerned neighbor requested a welfare check on the household. The neighbor noted an accumulation of mail inITOR the mailbox and stated that members of the Grodnick family had not been responding to phone calls or text messages. Montgomery Township Police officers responded to the residence to contact the occupants, but received no answer and initially left the scene while initiating an investigation into their whereabouts.
More than 24 hours later, on Friday, October 2, at 5:52 p.m., Montgomery police officers successfully forced entry into the home. Paramedics and medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset pronounced all three individuals dead at the scene.
Autopsies and Ongoing Investigation
Detectives from the Montgomery Township Police Department, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and medical investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office responded to process the scene.
Postmortem examinations conducted by the Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the classifications of the deaths. Authorities officially ruled the deaths of Lora and Sloane Grodnick as homicides, while David Grodnick’s death was ruled a .
Montgomery Police Chief Silvio Bet assured residents that there was no broader threat or cause for public alarm. Officials have urged anyone with additional information relating to the ongoing investigation to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit or the Montgomery Police Department.
Background on the Grodnick Family
The tragedy profoundly impacted both the local Montgomery Township area and the professional and academic circles frequented by the family members.
- David Grodnick: Worked as a senior vice president and underwriting counsel for Land Services USA, a commercial title insurance agency, where he managed multi-site commercial real estate transactions nationwide. He previously spent nearly 21 years with First American Title and held a business administration degree from the University of Miami and a bachelor’s degree in English from McDaniel College.
- Lora “Lori” Grodnick: Resided at the Skillman home alongside her husband and daughter, actively participating in local community and legal matters alongside her husband as plaintiffs in various civil filings over the years.
- Sloane Grodnick: A 2020 graduate of the Hun School of Princeton, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2024 and was enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) at the time of her passing. She was also widely remembered for organizing a charitable clothing drive as a child to aid a vulnerable peer in Trenton.
Community Impact in Skillman
The affluent, low-density neighborhood along Wild Azalea Lane is characterized by large residential properties valued between $1 million and $2 million. Skillman, a quiet unincorporated section of Montgomery Township with a population of under 400 residents, rarely experiences violent crime. The sudden loss of three members of the same household sent immediate shockwaves through local schools, country clubs, and community groups.
