A postal carrier noticed a disturbing message outside a home in Mount Holly, New Jersey, late last week. He contacted police, who later found three people dead inside.
Dom Clements was delivering mail on Friday when he spotted a sign near the entrance. It read “9-1-1 Inside” and showed two sad faces with Xs for eyes.
The message struck him as strange. Clements said he was the only person who regularly approached the house, and the sign couldn’t be seen from the street. He also noticed that clear packing tape had been used to attach the sign and seal the mailbox.
The home appeared run-down, with peeling paint and rotting window frames, according to accounts of the scene. Clements alerted police about the note.
Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said three elderly people were found dead in the residence Friday afternoon. Authorities have not released their names while they work to notify relatives.
A neighbor told local television that officers mentioned finding a large amount of blood inside. The county medical examiner’s office is expected to conduct autopsies.
Neighbor David Babcock said the residents were two brothers and a sister, all in their 60s. Authorities have not said whether they suspect foul play or identified any suspects. The investigation is ongoing.
Mount Holly Police Chief Clifford Spencer said preliminary findings indicated there was no continuing danger to the public. He acknowledged that the deaths had deeply unsettled the community and said residents’ safety remained his priority.
Clements described the sign and the circumstances as bizarre, adding that he hoped nothing like this would happen again. He said the people who lived in the home had seemed nice.
A longtime local resident said the family had lived in the area for decades but mostly kept to themselves. One sister had worked as a crossing guard for years, the resident recalled. One of the brothers had a regular routine of walking to a nearby convenience store in the afternoon, but the siblings rarely went out otherwise.
Babcock said he had thought the house might eventually be condemned and the residents moved to a group home. He was not entirely surprised that trouble had surfaced there, he said, though he hadn’t expected anything so horrific.
