Crime & Safety

Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Cinnaminson Woman

The woman was found dead inside her Westfield Drive home Monday, but the Burlington County prosecutor and Cinnaminson Police say the public is not in danger.

Authorities are investigating the suspicious death of an elderly Cinnaminson woman whose body was found Monday inside her home at Westfield Leas.

Laura Coggins, 81, of the 800 block of Westfield Drive, was found around 11 a.m. by a family member, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi and Cinnaminson Public Safety Director Michael P. King said in a joint statement Wednesday.

The agencies launched an investigation and have determined Coggins’ death was not due to natural causes and that the circumstances surrounding it are such that the case be deemed suspicious.

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No arrests have been made but an investigation is pending.

However, law enforcement officials are satisfied Coggins’ death was not a result of a random act of violence, nor is there any indication the public is at further risk of violence, the statement said.

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“It’s important we get the message out to the community that they need not be alarmed,” explained First Assistant Prosecutor Raymond Milavsky.

Authorities said that, due to the fact that this is an ongoing investigation, no further details would be released at this time. Milavsky said he hoped to be able to provide more information in the next few days.

Two of Coggins’ neighbors in Westfield Leas, a 55-and-over community off Meetinghouse Road, said Coggins lived in the home with her husband and that the couple was “very private.”

One of the neighbors referred to Coggins as “one of the nicest people you’d ever meet.”

A WhitePages search indicates that a William E. Coggins also lives at the same address. 

The neighbor said she saw someone transported from the home in an ambulance. However, Milavsky said he could not comment on that.

A William Coggins was listed in stable condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden Thursday afternoon, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Stay with Patch for more on this developing story.


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