Investigator John D. McLaughlin
Camden County Prosecutor's Office
New Jersey
End of Watch: Thursday, April 20, 1995
Biographical Info
Age: Not Available
Tour of Duty: Not Available
Badge Number: Not Available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Thursday, April 20, 1995
Weapon Used: Rifle; Semi-automatic
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
I
nvestigator McLaughlin and Officer John Norcross, of the Haddon Heights Police Department, were shot and killed while trying to serve a search warrant on a suspect being investigated for child abuse. The suspect had gone through a sex-change operation 3 years earlier to become a female.
After the officers entered the house the suspect opened fire, killing Investigator McLaughlin and wounding Officer Richard Norcross. Officer John Norcross, the brother of the wounded officer, responded to the shots fired call and was shot and killed after arriving on the scene.
The suspect was found guilty of both murders and received a life sentence and a death sentence. The New Jersey Supreme Court overturned the death sentence after two separate penalty phases of the trial. The suspect was sentenced to death after a third trial but the sentence was eventually reduced to life in prison.
Investigator McLaughlin is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Related Line of Duty Deaths
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Patrolman John Frank Norcross |
