A New Jersey mail carrier found a handwritten message reading “9-1-1 Inside” at a Mount Holly home Friday, leading police to three elderly people found dead inside.
Dom Clements was delivering mail along his regular route when he spotted the note near the entrance. Two sad faces with Xs for eyes were drawn beneath the words, according to the postal worker.
The placement immediately struck him as unusual because the message appeared positioned for someone walking directly up to the property rather than a passerby.
“I thought it was weird because the only person that would have been able to see that sign would have been me, ’cause I’m the only one that goes to that house every day,” the mail carrier recalled. He added that the sign could not be seen from outside.
The note had been fastened to the house with clear wrapping tape. The mailbox was sealed with the same type of tape, according to the carrier. The Post described the home as “ramshackle” and “dilapidated” with peeling paint and rotting window frames.
Clements alerted police. Officers later entered the residence Friday afternoon and found three elderly people dead inside.
Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced the discovery, noting that the victims’ identities were being withheld until relatives could be notified.
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A neighbor told WCAU-TV that officers described finding “a lot of blood” inside the home.
Authorities have not disclosed whether foul play was involved or identified any suspects. The Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct autopsies.
Neighbor David Babcock told the outlet that the people who lived there were two brothers and a sister in their 60s.
Mount Holly Police Chief Clifford Spencer sought to reassure residents while the investigation continued.
Spencer stated that the preliminary investigation showed “no ongoing threat to public safety.” He also described the case as “deeply concerning to our community.”
For Clements, the most unsettling detail remained the note’s location. He stressed that the only person who normally approached the door was the mail carrier.
“The whole situation was weird,” he remarked. Clements also described the residents as “nice people.”
The discovery came one day after another violent case involving the Postal Service, this time a shooting at an Iowa post office in Des Moines.
Gunfire erupted shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday on the second floor of the building, where police accused a postal worker of opening fire on coworkers.
Authorities identified the suspect as Jennifer Christine Pledger, 39, of West Des Moines. Investigators allege she fired 10 to 12 shots before leaving the building.
BREAKING: Active shooter with multiple injuries reported at Des Moines, Iowa post office; possible suspect detained. pic.twitter.com/SFE4PVPwFl
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Two women, ages 45 and 53, were shot and taken to area hospitals with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
A newly unsealed search warrant application states that one woman was shot in the head and left hand and another was struck in the right arm.
A 55-year-old man was also injured in a fall while fleeing the scene. The court filing described one victim asking Pledger, “Why are you doing this?” as the shooting unfolded.
Police recovered a 9mm handgun near the location where the suspect was detained.
Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek reported that officers responded within three minutes and quickly spread out after learning the suspect’s name and the direction she had gone.
“We believe the evidence indicates that one of the victims was targeted,” Parizek noted Friday. He cautioned that investigators still needed more information before confirming that assessment.
Officers detained Pledger near a trail beneath the I-235 bridge around half past nine in the morning, according to police radio traffic.
The sergeant explained that knowing the suspect had left the building allowed officers to redirect resources away from securing and clearing the entire postal facility.
“Had we not known that the person had left the building, we would have dedicated a lot of our resources to perimeter security and clearing that building,” he explained.
The Des Moines Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Section is leading the investigation with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI and ATF.
Multiple local and state agencies also assisted in the response, including the Iowa State Patrol and several surrounding police departments.
Pledger faces two counts of attempted murder, two counts of willful injury causing serious injury and one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon. She was booked into the Polk County Jail and is being held without bond, according to KCCI.
Newly released court documents also say Pledger told police to kill her before she was arrested minutes after the shooting.
The two cases unfolded in different states and under very different circumstances, but both placed Postal Service workers at the center of sudden crime scenes.
In New Jersey, a carrier’s attention to an unusual message brought police to three dead residents. In Iowa, employees were forced to flee after gunfire erupted inside a postal facility.
Police in Mount Holly have not disclosed who wrote the message or when it was placed at the home. Investigators also have not disclosed whether the note was written before or after the deaths.
The autopsies are expected to provide the next major clues about what happened inside the residence.
