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Jury Finds John Formisano Guilty of Murder, Attempted Murder
Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Chief of Detectives Christoph Kimker, and Jefferson Township Chief of Police Paul Castimore announced yesterday that a jury has found John Formisano, age 52, formerly of Jefferson Township, NJ guilty on all charges related to a fatal shooting that occurred on July 14, 2019, in Jefferson Township.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on October 3, 2022, following an eight-day trial. The defendant 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 sentencing date will be set by the court. The defendant will remain in custody until that time.
The charges arise from an incident that occurred on July 14, 2019, in Jefferson Township.
At approximately 11:21 PM, members of the Jefferson Township Police Department were dispatched to 1 Mirror Place for 9-1-1 calls of shots fired.
Upon arrival, first-responding officers located a deceased woman’s body lying on the front porch steps of 5 Mirror Place. The deceased woman was subsequently identified as Christie Formisano, age 37, of Jefferson Township, New Jersey.
A second victim, Timothy Simonson, age 40, was located with multiple gunshot wounds inside the residence of 1 Mirror Place. Two minor children were also located inside the residence.
At approximately 2:00 AM on July 15, 2019, the defendant was located in Livingston, New Jersey, and was taken into custody by law enforcement.
The firearm used by the defendant was recovered in the trunk of the car the defendant was driving.
The defendant, an Acting Lieutenant with the Newark Police Department, was off-duty at the time of the incident.
Prosecutor Carroll would like to thank and acknowledge the agencies that participated in the investigation that led to the successful guilty verdict, including the Jefferson Township Police Department, the Livingston Township Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), and the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.
The Prosecutor also credited the Trial Team: Chief Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Schellhorn and Assistant Prosecutor Tara Wang with their professional and dedicated service; and commended MCPO Major Crimes Unit Lt. Michael Gomez, as well as MCPO Sergeants Sasha Gould and Michael Puskas, Detective Supervisors Stephen Gangi and Luis Goncalves, Detectives Michael Bost, Mohammed Thomas, and Matthew Belcastro, and all others who contributed to the investigation and successful prosecution in this case.
