William M. Gennett is accused of stalking and killing Shannon O’Rourke
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Tabernacle man has been indicted for murder for strangling a Lumberton Township resident inside of her home last year.
William M. Gennett, 53, was indicted by a Burlington County Grand Jury on one count of murder (first degree) and one count of stalking (fourth degree). He is accused of using his hands to asphyxiate Shannon O’Rourke, 45, inside of her residence on Nassau Road on July 5, 2016.
The indictment was returned on May 4 and signed by Coffina. An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Superior Court.
The investigation revealed that O’Rourke and Gennett were friends, but Gennett was using a cell phone app that allowed him to track her whereabouts without her knowledge.
Gennett resided in Mount Holly at the time of O’Rourke’s murder. He was arrested on Feb. 8 at his residence in Tabernacle and is being detained in the Burlington County Jail.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death to be manual strangulation.
The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant Prosecutor Bob VanGilst.
The case was investigated by detectives from the Lumberton Township Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Scene Unit, High-Tech Crimes Unit and Major Crimes Unit. BCPO Det. Andy Mikulski and Lumberton Det. Tom LaRosa were the lead investigators.
