From WNYC in New York, this is on the media. I'm Brooke Gladstone. On this week's show,

following the trail of a grizzly murder leads one reporter to an even more grizzly story.

The type of wounds that Sheridan suffered were consistent with a range type of attack.

The Sheridan's funeral was held in October 2014, and the most powerful people in New Jersey came to

pay their respects. When the prosecutor's office tells you that it was a murder suicide,

that's like a gut punch. A cold case reopened presents quandaries for the reporter, like

our red herrings? Bad journalism? I wondered, like, are we telling the story well enough if we don't

have red herrings? Because I really did want it to unfold like a murder mystery. But I just couldn't,

as a journalist, I couldn't put information into the podcast that I knew was not true.

It's all coming up after this.

9-1-1, where is your emergency?

Yes, you might have run drives and skill managers.

The call came in just before sunrise on Sunday, September 28, 2014.

On this quiet cold assack, 9-1-1 calls were rare.

I believe my neighbor's house may be speaking to a fire in her house. Why do you think that?

I can smell smoke out here. White smoke was pouring out of the bedroom window on the second

story of a large center hall colonial where John and Joyce Sheridan lived. Halloween decorations

were in the front yard, but something more sinister had happened inside.

Johnny, heavy smoke condition throughout the entire house, especially the second floor.

The firefighters arrived and quickly upgraded to a two alarm fire at 6.31.

PD search, the basement and first floor, no occupants, we do believe there's occupants on the second floor.

The door to the master bedroom wouldn't budge, and when they finally got in,

...