Cherry Tree Lane is the kind of place you would move to get away from things.
Cherry Tree Lane, one neighbor said, is the kind of place you would move to get away from things.
With houses set far back on wide fields, separated by woods and overlooking the scenic vista of northern Warren County, the horses are just as at home as the people.
It was jarring for residents when police arrived in the Blairstown Township neighborhood in the middle of the night. It was worse when they found out why -- two of their neighbors' lives ended in what authorities suspect was a murder-suicide.
Julie Matte called police to her 4 Cherry Tree Lane home about 1 a.m. Wednesday, telling the dispatcher she was being shot at, according to county prosecutor Richard Burke.
Troopers find woman dead at home
New Jersey State Police -- which supplement the township police department -- responded and found the 46-year-old was dead. She had suffered several gunshot wounds to the torso, Burke said.
Troopers issued an alert to nearby departments to be on the lookout for the 55-year-old man who lived with her, saying he was wanted for questioning. He was found at 9:25 a.m. by staff at Johnsonburg Presbyterian Center, a summer camp about 6 miles away off Route 519 in Frelinghuysen Township.
He had apparently shot himself, state police said.
North Warren Regional High School and Blairstown Elementary School were briefly locked down Wednesday morning as the investigation got underway.
Authorities have not publicly identified the man as they are still trying to notify his next of kin, Burke said. Neighbors said the two were married.
The prosecutor said he is not aware of any prior domestic abuse calls to Matte's home.
Murder suspect took own life, cops say
Property records show the house was owned by Matte and Edward Aghahowa.
Neighbors said the couple owned some horses and rescue animals on their property. One woman, who declined to be identified, said she offered to feed the horses as the investigation was continuing around midday Wednesday.
"There wouldn't be anybody who would say anything bad about them," she said.
Ralph Cortese Jr., who also lives nearby, said his neighbors seemed nice from the few encounters he had with them.
Cortese said his dog started barking in the middle of the night, and he woke up to see police up and down the street, some searching the area with flashlights.
It's unsettling, he said of the shooting, knowing that something like that can happen nearby.
"It's creepy," he said. "It's real creepy."
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.