NJ police officer charged after botched double killing investigation, officials say

🔴 Police sergeant charged with botching response to a double killing in Pittstown.

🔴 Prosecutors say he went to an ATM before the crime scene, then went to get pizza.

🔴 The bodies of the victims, a young beloved couple, weren't found for 17 hours.

FRANKLIN (Hunterdon) — Facing fury from the community, prosecutors have filed charges against a police sergeant who is accused of failing to properly investigate the double killing of a young couple.

Sgt. Kevin Bollaro is charged with second-degree official misconduct and records tampering, a disorderly persons offense.

Bollaro, who is already suspended, is accused of mishandling the investigation into the killings of 33-year-old Lauren Semanchik and 29-year-old Tyler Webb.

The young couple was shot to death at Semanchik's home on Upper Kingtown Road in Pittstown on Aug. 1, but their bodies weren't discovered until after noon the next day.

According to Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée Robeson, the police sergeant prioritized going to an ATM before heading to the scene and doing less than the bare minimum.

State trooper escapes scene of double killing as investigator lags

Prosecutors said Semanchik was shot to death by a jealous ex-boyfriend, State Police Lt. Ricardo Santos.

Semanchik tried to get a restraining order against him, but she never heard back from the Franklin police, according to the family's lawyers. And evidence released by authorities showed that Santos had been stalking her.

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The day after the killing, the 45-year-old trooper was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Mercedes SUV in Jackson.

If prosecutors are right, Santos may have escaped the scene due to Sgt. Bollaro's relaxed response.

Sergeant stopped at ATM before investigating gunshots, prosecutors say

Around 7:08 p.m. on Aug. 1, police dispatch got a 911 call from a neighbor in the rural area who reported hearing gunshots and screaming.

Their neighbors didn't know it, but Semanchik, a beloved veterinarian, and her boyfriend Webb, a mechanic and volunteer firefighter, had been shot.

A dispatcher passed the details along to Bollaro. However, instead of driving to Upper Kingtown Road, he went 1.5 miles in the opposite direction.

Prosecutors said a GPS tracker showed his police vehicle went to the TD Bank on Route 31 in Clinton Township. While he was making a transaction at an ATM, a second neighbor called 911 and reported hearing seven gunshots.

After 13 minutes from the first call, dispatch received a similar call from a third woman.

A full 17 minutes passed from the time of the first call until Bollaro finally arrived around 7:25 p.m. at the first caller's home on Upper Kingtown Road. Semanchik's home was only 562 feet away.

Prosecutors said Bollaro spoke with the first caller for around five minutes, but what was said is unknown because Bollaro did not activate his bodycam. He did not speak with the second and third callers, prosecutors said.

However, investigators said that Bollaro filed a report falsely claiming he had tried to make contact with one of the other callers.

Investigator heads to pizzeria and then local watering hole

Bollaro spent more time getting to Upper Kingtown Road than he did investigating the scene.

Prosecutors said less than 15 minutes after he arrived at the first caller's home, Bollaro advised dispatch that he couldn't hear anything in the area and was back on the road.

Instead of checking on any other homes, prosecutors said that Bollaro drove to Duke's Pizzeria in Pittstown. He stayed there for nearly an hour before he went to the Pittstown Inn, where he spent another hour talking socially with patrons.

GPS data then showed that from 11:27 p.m. until 4:33 a.m. the next day, Bollaro stayed parked at a local cemetery, prosecutors said. He didn't go back to investigate Upper Kingtown Road for the rest of his shift.

Chief suspended after outrage in Hunterdon County

Less than a week after the killings, Bollaro and Franklin police Chief Timothy Snyder were placed on administrative leave.

The police department was superseded by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office amid widespread outrage.

Prosecutors said they had "serious concerns" with how the investigation was handled and the claims that Semanchik's attempts to get a restraining order against her future killer fell on deaf ears.

Previous coverage of the Pittstown double killing:

🔴 NJ seeks justice for Semanchik, Webb killings in police fallout

🔴 NJ couple is mourned as NJ state trooper's rampage is revealed

🔴 NJ mourns couple killed, victim's trooper ex then takes own life

🔴 Pittstown killings spark concerns about police action, 911 call response

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