Deaths Of Family After Long Branch Fire Ruled Murder-Suicide

LONG BRANCH, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A man fatally shot his partner and their two children before setting their Long Branch house on fire and killing himself, prosecutors said Friday.

The deaths of 35-year-old Lyndon Beharry, 29-year-old Amanda Morris, 7-year-old Brandon Beharry and 4-year-old Brian Beharry have officially been ruled a murder-suicide, Monmouth County Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said.

The two-alarm fire started late Tuesday night at their home on Joline Avenue and quickly consumed the house. When firefighters arrived, they were met by a wall of smoke and flames.

"They tried to get upstairs to the second floor. The house was already fully involved," Public Safety Director Jason Roebuck said at the time of the fire. "They couldn't make their way past the smoke and fire."

All four were found with gunshot wounds inside a second-floor bedroom after the fire was extinguished and Lyndon Beharry's wound was self-inflicted, Gramiccioni said.

The four were taken from the house to a hospital, where they died. Their official cause of death won't be available for several weeks, the prosecutor said, and the case remains under investigation by local law enforcement.

Beharry and Morris were originally from Trinidad and were remembered by neighbors as loving and dedicated parents. Beharry worked for the city's public works department.

Beharry's cousin said the couple loved each other and their children and that they had a big barbecue Sunday. But a neighbor said the couple was arguing on the porch the day before the fire.

Anyone with any information is urged to call Detective Pamela Ricciardi of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at 1-800-533-7443 or Detective Rich O'Brien of the Long Branch Police Department at 732-222-1000.

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