The deaths of four family members inside a Long Branch home Tuesday night has been ruled a murder-suicide, authorities said.
LONG BRANCH - A Long Branch man shot his girlfriend and their two young children to death before setting their house on fire and then turning the gun on himself, authorities said on Thursday.
Lyndon "Shane" Beharry, 35, killed his family before setting their Joline Avenue home ablaze late Tuesday night, confirming authorities' suspicion of a murder-suicide, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Long Branch firefighters and police officers discovered the family inside of a second-floor bedroom. All four of them were transported to nearby Monmouth Medical Center, where they died despite life-saving efforts, authorities said.
The Beharry family in Atlantic City. From left to right, Brandon Beharry, Amanda Morris, Lyndon Beharry and Brian Beharry. While the cause of death is still pending additional studies, which will not be available for several weeks, all four individuals have injuries that are consistent with gunshot wounds, the prosecutor's office said.
The deaths of 29-year-old Amanda Morris and her sons, Brandon Beharry, 7 and Brian Beharry, 4, have been ruled homicides. Lyndon Beharry's sole injury was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the prosecutors office said.
The post-mortem examinations were conducted by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's office.
MORE: Deaths of family in murder-suicide 'incompressible'
Hours after the fire was extinguished, First Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Marc LeMieux had said signs pointed to a homicide-suicide. He said there were other injuries on the victims' bodies besides burns and that the fire started in more than one area in the home.
All four occupants of the house were rushed to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch where they died, he said.
The notion of his cousin getting access to a gun perplexed Ronald Beharry, who lives in the neighborhood and said he often went to barbecues on Sundays at the family's home.
"I've never seen him with a gun. He doesn't have a gun license," Ronald Beharry said on Wednesday, standing beside his 5th Avenue home while family gathered in the backyard.
Lyn Jones, who lives next door to the Beharry's home on Joline Avenue and frequented the house often, said she was in disbelief when she heard Shane Beharry killed Morris and their two children.
"That's just not the message I want people to have of this family," Jones said. "They just loved their babies. I want people to know that.
"Given the right amount of circumstance, you don't know what you'll do," she added, wiping away tears. "And I just want people to know they loved each other. ... In a moment four lives are gone and they'll be missed."
Morris' sister Avika Lalloo, the youngest of five, said her sister was the one who held the family together and kept everyone happy.
"She just loved people (and was) very giving," Lalloo, 26, said by phone on Thursday. "We barbecued and hung out at her house, everything was at her house. She did everything."
Lalloo said Morris "was just the best mom and the best sister anyone could ask for," adding that Lyndon Beharry was like a brother to Morris' sisters.
She said she was with the family fishing just a couple days before the fire, and that everything was fine between them.
"They loved each other, they loved their kids," Lalloo said. "What couple doesn't have a little tension here and there, but they were great."
The investigation is being conducted by the Long Branch Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, with assistance from the Long Branch and Monmouth County Fire Marshall's offices.
Anyone with any information pertaining to this incident is urged to call Detective Pamela Ricciardi, of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, at 1-800-533-7443 or Detective Rich O'Brien, of the Long Branch Police Department, at 732-222-1000.
--NJ Advance Media's Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.