Burlington County shooting victim found dead in car

A probe begins into the circumstances that led to a 68-year-old man's death by gunshot inside a car in Mansfield Township.

James Dewyer was found already deceased at about 4:15 PM on January 3 in his silver Dodge Avenger on Monica Court by township police, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi.

An autopsy scheduled for today by county Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood is expected to shed light on the cause and manner of Dewyer's death.

Authorities said that Dewyer had not lived at his last known address on Linden Road in Burlington Township for several years, changing residences frequently and living in several area motels.

A spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office could not corroborate whether the victim is the same James Dewyer listed in the New Jersey Police and Firefighters Retirement System as having begun to collect pension from the Department of Corrections in 2010, or whether he co-owned the Linden Road home that went to sheriff's sale in August 2014.

Burlington County and Mansfield investigators are piecing together information. Anyone with details that might help the probe can call Burlington County Central Communications, 609-265-7113.