Surf City, New Jersey – A realtor from Pennsylvania convicted of a gruesome double murder was sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars. Sherry Lee Heffernan, 57, was found guilty of stabbing her father and his girlfriend multiple times, shooting them in the mouth, following being disinherited from her father’s will. The victims, John “Jack” Enders, 87, and Francoise “Frenchy” Pitoy, 75, were brutally murdered in their Surf City residence on September 29, 2021.
Heffernan, maintaining her innocence throughout the trial, expressed a desire to have been the one killed instead of being blamed for the murders during her sentencing. She received two consecutive life sentences for the heinous crime which shook the community. The prosecutor argued that Heffernan carried out the murders in a fit of rage after being removed from her father’s will and not permitted to sell his million-dollar home due to the belief that she was motivated by financial gain.
The evidence presented during the trial pointed to Heffernan as the perpetrator of the violent act. Security footage showed her RV driving to her father’s house on the night of the murders, and later returning the next day. The victims were found days later with fatal stab wounds and gunshot injuries at their home. Pitoy, a beloved member of the Surf City community, and Enders, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran, were both mourned by their friends and family.
Heffernan’s sentencing brings some closure to the tragic event, as she will spend the remainder of her life incarcerated. The prosecutor expressed hope that the sentence would provide some solace to the loved ones of the victims. The murders of Enders and Pitoy remain a poignant reminder of the devastating consequences of unchecked anger and violence in a normally quiet community.