Ex-N.J. Policeman Fatally Shoots Granddaughter, 3 Neighbors

A retired police officer shot and killed his 22-year-old granddaughter Thursday, then went door to door and killed three neighbors, police said.

John W. Mabie, 70, who retired from the Newark police force in 1976, was charged with four counts of murder. Bail was set at $3 million.

He was arrested as he sat on the front lawn of his home, about an hour’s drive southeast of Trenton, authorities said. A .38-caliber revolver was found on his front steps, Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said.

Kelaher said Mabie was at his mother-in-law’s home down the street from his house when he shot his granddaughter, Natalie Gingerelli. He then allegedly left the house, walked to a nearby house and fatally shot Sue Keiran, 42.

Mabie went to another home and shot 27-year-old Thomas Luyster, who died at a hospital, Kelaher said. The body of Luyster’s fiancee, Suzanne Lavecchia, was found on the lawn in front of the house.

Authorities did not give a motive for the shootings.