Sheila Maguire and Peter Lestician.Photo: Sheila Maguire Facebook
On Aug. 29, police found the body Sheila Maguire, 54, a well-known advocate for women and children who’d been abused, inside her Florence Township home, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L.Bradshaw said in a statement.
Prior to the discovery of her body, family members had asked police to conduct a welfare check because they’d been unable to reach her for a few days.
Sheila Maguire and Peter Lestician.Sheila Maguire Facebook
Her death has since been ruled a homicide, Bradshaw and Florence Township Police Chief Brian Boldizar said in a statement. An autopsy determined that she died from blunt force trauma to the head.
On Sept. 2, four days after Maguire’s body was found, police announced that Maguire’s boyfriend, Peter Lestician, 53, who lived with Maguire, was found dead on Friday of an apparent suicide in Pennsylvania.
Family members told police they hadn’t heard from Lestician since August 26.
Lestician was found in the front seat of the vehicle. His New Jersey driver’s license was located inside.
His vehicle was located in a desolate area of central Pennsylvania, about four-and-a-half hours from Florence Township.
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An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death, and also to confirm the identity of the body.
Lestician is believed to have been the last person to see Maguire, say authorities.
“While he was a person of interest in Maguire’s homicide, there was no evidence linking Lestician directly to the crime and charges had not been filed against him,” the prosecutor and police chief said in the Sept. 3 statement.
Lestician was a longtime teacher at South Brunswick High School, and was and was named NJ.com’s softball Coach of the Year in 2019 during his second season at Hightstown,NJ.comreports.
Maguire was a longtime advocate for women, children and families.
In her profile forPrevent Child Abuse New Jersey,Maguire wrote, “My 25+ years of experience in Early Childhood have taken me from the classroom, to center administration, to training and coaching, and I am proud to help providers through the Grow NJ Kids process.”
AGoFundMeset up for Maguire’s daughters called her “a light.”
“She was fun, positive, uplifting and supportive,” the page states.
Police continue to investigate.
source: people.com
