Franklin Township sergeant charged with misconduct in connection to murder of young couple
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (WABC) -- An officer has been charged with misconduct in connection to the murders of a young couple in Franklin Township over the summer after an investigation revealed he didn't respond properly to 911 calls.
The calls for help were made on a Friday, August 1, and the bodies of the victims weren't discovered until the next day.
"My boyfriend and I just heard something strange, we heard gun shots and also screaming," one of the 911 calls said.
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office revealed on Thursday that that was the first 911 call that night, coming in around 7:08 p.m. It was one of three 911 calls from concerned neighbors in Franklin Township.
Their timeline shows Sgt. Kevin Bollaro acknowledges the call from dispatch but drives 1.5 miles in the opposite direction to an ATM where he makes a transaction.
About five minutes later, a second 911 caller in the area reports gunshots and screaming. Bollaro again acknowledges the call and finally drives to the location without lights and sirens.
Approximately five minutes later, a third 911 caller reports gunshots and screaming. Bollaro acknowledges that call, arrives about eight minutes later to the location of the first 911 call, speaks to the caller without activating his body-worn camera, then at approximately 7:40 p.m., requests to be cleared from the scene without speaking to the second or third callers.
It wasn't until the next day that the bodies of Lauren Semanchik, a veterinarian, and her boyfriend Tyler Webb were discovered.
The prosecutor's office says that in Sgt. Bollaro's report from the night before, he falsely stated that he was unable to make contact with one of the callers, was unable to locate the source of the shots and cleared the scene after approximately 20 minutes, although GPS data and witness statements directly contradict his accounts.
Police say the victims were killed by her ex-boyfriend, New Jersey State Police Lt. Ricardo Santos, who then took his own life.
Semanhik had been stalked by her ex-boyfriend for months and had reported her concerns to police.
On Thursday, the victim's family released a statement saying, "The Semanchik and Webb families are shocked at Sgt. Bollaro's egregious conduct as charged by the Hunterdon County prosecutor. We believe this to be the tip of the iceberg of the many failures by the local and state police which will be uncovered and which led to the murders of Lauren and Tyler."
Bollaro is charged with official misconduct and tampering with records.
The victims' families have sued the Franklin Township Police Department and New Jersey State Police, alleging a blue wall of silence played a role as the real danger Semanchik was in wasn't taken seriously.
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