Authorities have officially identified the two people killed in a murder-suicide last week in Gloucester County.
The bodies of a man and woman were recovered from a home destroyed in an explosive fire May 11 in Washington Township.
The woman’s death was a homicide and the man died by suicide as a result of the intentionally-set fire, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office previously said.
The prosecutor identified the man Monday as Daniel Steele, 59, of Sewell, and the woman as Michelle Whiting, 45, of Gloucester City.
A longtime friend of Whiting’s described her last week as a mother of three with a “heart of gold,” and said she had previously dated Steele.
The friend created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help Whiting’s children.
The Washington Township Police Department received multiple 9-1-1 calls at 2:02 a.m. May 11 reporting a loud explosion and fire in the area of Tranquility Court and Orion Way, according to police.Washington Township Police Department
Washington Township Police received multiple 911 calls around 2 a.m. on May 11 reporting an explosion and fire. First responders arrived to find a Tranquility Court residence fully engulfed in flames, police said.
The two bodies were found after the fire was extinguished, authorities said.
Steele, believed to be the tenant at the residence, was found in the living room with a handgun near his body, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The Gloucester County Medical Examiner said Steele died by suicide from the fire. He was not shot.
Whiting was found in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head that occurred prior to the fire, the prosecutor’s office said.
An investigation revealed “the presence of an accelerant” in the house and the home’s gas line had been tampered with, allowing natural gas to fill the residence, prosecutors said.
Anyone with information relevant to the case is asked to call prosecutor’s office Detective Allen Williams at 856-384-5622 or Washington Township Police Detective Matthew Laudenslager at 856-589-0330, ext. 1176. Information can also be emailed to the prosecutor’s office at tips@co.gloucester.nj.us.
Stories by Matt Gray
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.