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The explosion broke out around 2 a.m. Sunday, May 12, at a home on Tranquility Court and Orion Way in Washington Township, Gloucester County, authorities said. First responders arriving at 13 Tranquility Ct. found the home fully engulfed in flames.
Two bodies — a man and a woman — were recovered from the rubble, police said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Neighbors and an ex-girlfriend, Nicole Ruiz, identified the man as Daniel Steele, NBC10 says. According to Ruiz, Steele dropped off his dog at her home shortly before the fire — along with a bag of dog food that, she said, had money hidden inside.
Ruiz told NBC10 she also received an email from Steele just moments before the fire ignited: “I am a terrible person. By the time you read this I won’t be alive. Billy loves you more than anyone I’ve ever seen. Take care of yourself. Love, me,” the message read.
The identities of the victims and the exact circumstances surrounding the fire have not been officially confirmed by authorities.
The investigation is being led by the Washington Township Police Department’s Detective Bureau, Washington Township Fire Investigators, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety.
Click here for more from NBC10.
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