MURDER/SUICIDE – Franklin Township Gloucester County NJ
Press Release 11/12/2021 Gloucester County Prosecutors Office
On Thursday November 11, 2021, at approximately 10:30am, the Franklin Township Police Department was dispatched to a residence on Sandra Way, Franklinville, NJ, for the report of a male who committed suicide inside a vehicle which had come to rest in a residential backyard adjacent to Franklinville-Williamstown Road. Responding officers located John Kolonich, 5/12/1975, deceased in the vehicle from an apparent gunshot wound. While securing the scene, officers received information that Melissa Kolonich , 04/25/1979, the wife of John Kolonich, was deceased inside the residence they shared on nearby Florawood Court. Responding to that location, officers located Melissa Kolonich, deceased from apparent stab wounds inside the residence. The two separate crime scenes were secured by the Franklin Township Police Department, and the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office responded, at which time a joint investigation was initiated. Investigation by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes and Crime Scene Units, working closely with Franklin Township PD, determined that Melissa Kolonich was murdered by John Kolonich, in the early morning hours of November 11, 2021 at their Florawood Court address. At a time after the murder, John Kolonich departed their residence in his vehicle, and, travelling southbound on Franklinville-Williamstown Road, left the roadway, crashing into the backyard of the Sandra Way residence. After John Kolonich crashed his vehicle, he committed suicide while still inside the vehicle, using a rifle he had in his possession. The Gloucester County Medical Examiner determined that Melissa Kolonich died from multiple stab wounds, and the manner of death was homicide. John Kolonich died from a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide. Anyone with additional information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact Det. Christopher Popper of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, at 856-3384-5593, or Det. Alex Fragoso of the Franklin Township Police Department, at 856-694-1415.Information can also be e-mailed to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at tips@co.gloucester.nj.us.