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Peter Lestician, 53 — a teacher at South Brunswick High School an area softball coach — had been a person of interest in the death of his girlfriend, Sheila Maguire, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said.
Lestician's body was found Friday, Sept. 2 in the front seat of a locked car near an abandoned barn near an ATV trail in Cooper Township in Clearfield County, by two men riding four-wheelers in the area, said Bradshaw alongside Florence Township Police Chief Brian Boldizar. PA state troopers found no signs of foul play.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death, and also to confirm the identity.
Maguire, 54, was found dead late Monday, Aug. 29 after family members requested a wellness check at her house because they had been unable to reach her for a few days. Maguire and Lestician lived together at the home in the 200 block of Birch Hollow Drive.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that she died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Lestician, a teacher at South Brunswick High School, had not made contact with family members since Aug. 26. While he was a person of interest in Maguire’s homicide, there was no evidence linking Lestician directly to the crime and charges had not been filed against him.
The investigation into Maguire’s homicide will continue. BCPO Crime Scene Unit detectives are coordinating with the local district attorney’s office in Pennsylvania to gain permission to forensically examine the vehicle.
The investigation is being conducted by the Florence Township Police Department, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Pennsylvania State Police. The lead investigators are FTPD Detective Chris Powell and BCPO Detectives Shawn McDonough and Andrew Ridolfi.
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