Bodies of Woman, Daughter, 4, Found in Bernardsville Home

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad and Bernardsville Police Department are investigating the deaths of a 45-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter.

The bodies were discovered inside their residence on Thursday evening. Authorities have identified the deceased as Patricia A. Graham-Hawthorne, 45, and her daughter Allison Hawthorne, 4.

Although the circumstances of both deaths remain under investigation, the preliminary investigation has led investigators to believe that no other individuals were with the decedents at the time of death, Soriano said. An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted Friday at the Regional Medical Examiner’s office to determine the cause and manner of death. 

Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano in a statement said Bernardsville police officers responded to a 9-1-1 call received by the Somerset County Communications Center dispatching them to a residence on Roundtop Road in Bernardsville following the report of a deceased child. Upon arrival, officers found that the mother and child were deceased in an upstairs bathroom.

Soriano reported that the father told officers that when he arrived home from work at approximately 6:35 p.m., and discovered his wife and child unresponsive in the upstairs bathroom, he immediately dialed 9-1-1.

Officers responding to the scene and emergency medical personnel from Morristown Memorial Hospital MEDIC 11 began to perform lifesaving measures on the child but were unsuccessful. Both mother and daughter were pronounced dead at the scene.

Soriano stated that detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Forensic and Crime Scene Unit in conjunction with detectives from the Bernardsville Police Department and investigators from the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office responded to conduct the investigation.

Soriano, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Detectives Stuart A. Buckman and Bernardsville Chief of Police Kevin Valentine request that anyone with any information regarding this incident contact either the Bernardsville Police Department at 908-766-0037, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Squad at 908-231-7100, or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.888577tips.org or www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE”. All calls are confidential.