Former N.J. cop sentenced for fatally shooting estranged wife near their children
12/20/2022 3:56 pm PST
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (TCD) -- A 52-year-old former police lieutenant was recently sentenced to just under eight decades in prison for fatally shooting his estranged wife and injuring her new boyfriend in 2019.
According to a news release from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, on July 14, 2019, Jefferson Township Police Department officers responded to a home on Mirror Place to a report of shots fired. At the scene, officers reportedly found the deceased victim, Christie Formisano, 37, lying on the front porch steps.
The Prosecutor’s Office said a surviving male victim, 40, was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside the home. Two children were reportedly inside the residence as well, but they were unharmed.
The victim’s estranged husband, John Formisano, was located in Livingston, New Jersey, and was taken into custody, the Prosecutor’s Office said. The firearm he used was reportedly recovered from the trunk of his vehicle. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the acting lieutenant was "off-duty at the time of the incident."
According to the New Jersey Herald, Formisano left his shift at the Newark Police Department at approximately 10:30 p.m. to go to his former home to drop off a pair of glasses. He reportedly said that his young daughter had left them in his vehicle.
Prosecutors argued that Formisano went to the home with the intention of killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend, Timothy Simonson.
Formisano reportedly claimed he "blacked out" and suffered a mental episode during the shooting.
On Oct. 3, Formisano was found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, two counts of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, second-degree official misconduct, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and third-degree hindering apprehension or prosecution.
A couple months later, the Prosecutor’s Office announced on Dec. 19 that he was sentenced to 79 years in New Jersey State Prison. Formisano was also ordered to pay restitution to the New Jersey Victim of Crimes Compensation Office and for reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by the victims.
Formisano was reportedly a 24-year veteran of the Newark Police Department and just months away from retirement at the time of the shooting.
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