Man, woman killed in South Jersey house explosion not in relationship, friend says
The Brief
In Gloucester County, new information has come to light tied to a house explosion in Washington Township.
A man and a woman were found dead nearly two weeks ago and the house was reduced to ash and debris.
An investigation is ongoing, but it turns out, the two people were not in a relationship.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - New details have emerged on a tragic murder suicide in Gloucester County in early May. The man and woman found in the rubble were not in a relationship, the woman's best friend says.
Friend's grief
"He lured her over there. He lured her over there," Tammy Ventura said.
Ventura says her best friend Michelle Whiting, was no longer in a relationship with Daniel Steele, but went over to his Washington Township home May 10th because he said he was going to give her a used car he had.
Ventura continued, "She went over to get the Lexus."
Timeline
On May 11th, the burned-out shell of that Lexus was among the ruins after the house in Sewell was set on fire. Investigators said an accelerant was used to start it and the natural gas lines cut to spread it.
After the flames were out, 45-year-old Michelle's body was found in a bedroom with "a fatal gunshot wound to the head that preceded the fire." Her death was ruled a homicide.
59-year-old Steele's body was found in the living room with a handgun near his body. His death ruled a suicide.
What they're saying
"He told her he was gonna help her by giving her a car and then he told her he was gonna help her with her daughter's graduation," Ventura explained.
Tammy says Michelle had long ended what she called a physically abusive relationship with Steele.
"She had a restraining order against him where he couldn't go near her which just ended in March," Ventura said. "They were not together. They were not together for over a year. He was obsessed. He would not leave her alone."
Big picture view
Tammy has video of Michelle dancing in her kitchen just days before she was killed. Michelle was a mother of three. Her middle child, a daughter, is about to graduate high school.
Tammy lost her best friend but says her children have lost their world. Tammy says Michelle worked hard to try and give her children everything they needed and wanted.
Ventura started a GoFundMe to try and provide for Michelle's three children and hoping to help somehow overcome the other hardships that go with losing their only parent.
"I want them to be able to go forward. Their mother was everything. I can't even begin to tell you how much their mother meant to them," Tammy said. "It's heart-wrenching. I'm broken from this, but I try to be strong for her kids."
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