Man Dies In Custody After Shooting, Killing Friend's Wife: NJ AG

KNOWLTON, NJ — Officials said a man suffered a medical episode and died in police custody Monday evening, after being apprehended in a fatal shooting investigation in Warren County.

According to the Attorney General's Office, state police were notified around 8 p.m. that someone had been shot at a residence on Columbia Street in Columbia (Knowlton Township), "and that shots were still being fired."

Responding officers found a female victim who was suffering from gunshot wounds, and she was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The Warren County Prosecutor's Office identified the woman as Cheryl Schilling, 58, a resident of the home. The Morris County Medical Examiner's office investigated her death and ruled it a homicide as a result of a gunshot wound to the torso, said Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer.

According to the prosecutor, officials identified 38-year-old Armond A. Avitable of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, as the suspect. Pfeiffer said that Avitable had been involved in a domestic dispute at his own residence, and was asked to vacate the premises. Avitable was acquainted with Schilling's husband and asked him for a place to stay, officials said.

After arriving at the home in Knowlton around 6 p.m., officials said the couple and Avitable got into a disagreement, and he became "agitated and aggressive."

According to officials, Avitable retrieved a pump-action shotgun from downstairs, and fired a shot. The Schillings went upstairs to their bedroom and closed the door, and he followed them upstairs with the shotgun before opening the door and firing two blasts, officials said. Cheryl Schilling was struck in the arm and upper left torso, Pfeiffer said.

Officials said Avitable then went into the back/side yard of the home and saw the Schillings' neighbors, who had been outside having a fire.

He began to tell them he had to shoot Mrs. Schilling because her husband "was coming for him," and fired two additional shots at the home before fleeing the area, and leaving the weapon on the neighbors' property.

State troopers located Avitable a short distance away near the intersection of I-80 and U.S. 46, and he became physical with arresting officers, said officials. Avitable had a medical emergency upon being taken into custody, the prosecutor's office said.

"While in police custody, the individual became unresponsive," the Attorney General's office stated. "NJSP troopers performed lifesaving efforts and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene."

First responders transported Avitable to Lehigh Valley Hospital — Pocono in in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead shortly at approximately 9 p.m. Monday.

State law requires that the Attorney General's Office conduct investigations whenever someone dies during an encounter with a law enforcement official.

The investigation is ongoing, and officials are not releasing further information at this time.

The Attorney General's office did not identify the people involved, though the Warren County Prosecutor released more details Tuesday after the coroner's report. Officials ask anyone with more information to call the Warren County Prosecutor's Office at 908-475-6275.