Local Jersey News.

This is a story from the local paper in my hometown that my mom emailed me this morning. My parents were good friends with the owner of the restaurant and frequented the establishment several times a month. It's just really sad knowing a majority of the people involved in these domestic violence occurrences. And its more upsetting knowing people will go to such extreme measures over jealousy and love.

It's a good thing I'm going to be a relationship therapist so I can hopefully help couples in need and possibly prevent issues such as this and the one with my stepdad's co-worker from several months ago (the one who was shot in the back of the head). Speaking of her, she finally awoke from her coma but she is doing quite well and is in a top-notch rehabilitation facility.

UPPER DEERFIELD -- The owner of a popular Vineland seafood restaurant and a well-known township businessman died in an apparent murder-suicide early Tuesday morning, authorities said. State police from the Bridgeton barracks responded to Capricorn Farm in the 200 block of Rosenhayn Avenue at 12:51 a.m.

The homeowner, Lisa Marcantonis, 48, told police she heard gunshots and came to a front room in her house to find her live-in boyfriend, Joseph Martorana, wounded and lying on the floor.

Marcantonis said her ex-boyfriend, Theodore "Teddy" Marcantonis, 63, also was standing in the room. (Lisa and Teddy Marcantonis were not married, but she had previously taken his surname, police said.)

State police would not comment on any possible motive, citing an active investigation.

Teddy Marcantonis was the owner of Neptune Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge on South Delsea Drive.

As Lisa Marcantonis dialed 9-1-1, her ex-boyfriend left the house, according to reports. She was not injured in the incident.

Police arrived to find a Mitsubishi Montero on fire near the home at the end of a long driveway. There was a man's body in the driver's seat of the vehicle, said Sgt. Stephen Jones, a state police spokesman.

The Montero was registered to Teddy Marcantonis. A handgun was also found inside the sport-utility vehicle, said Cumberland County Prosecutor Ronald J. Casella.

An autopsy on the body, which was burned beyond recognition, was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to determine the identity and cause of death, Jones said. The results of the autopsy were not available Tuesday night.

Martorana was pronounced dead at the scene.

Casella said early indications suggest Teddy Marcantonis broke through the front door of the home and fatally shot Martorana.

He might have then returned to his car and set it on fire before shooting himself, Casella said.

The prosecutor said he was unsure how long Teddy and Lisa Marcantonis had dated, or when their relationship ended.

Tearful members of Martorana's family who gathered at the scene Tuesday morning declined comment. Police and firefighters were still on the scene several hours after the apparent murder-suicide.

Tuesday's incident is the fourth apparent domestic-related shooting since August in Cumberland County resulting in a homicide or attempted homicide and the suicide of the suspect.

A total of seven people have died and one was critically injured in the incidents.

Martorana, 57, owned a farm across the street from Capricorn Farm, where he sold deer feed, such as sweet potatoes, carrots and corn, to hunters.

He also owned a local construction and remodeling business.

Martorana was an avid hunter and member of the Rosenhayn Gun Club.

He was well known in neighboring Deerfield Township, where he once lived.

"I don't know of anybody who had a bad thing to say about Joe except the one individual, I guess, who caused his death," said Deerfield Township Committeeman Cosmo Laurella.

Laurella recalled Martorana's abilities as a hunter.

"He got a deer almost every year when he was younger," Laurella said.

Neptune Restaurant was open for business Tuesday afternoon, but management declined comment.

Marcantonis, a Vineland resident, described during an interview with The Daily Journal in 2000 how he carved out his piece of the American Dream after arriving in the United States from Greece at age 20.

"I always wanted to have my own business, and figured that if I worked long hours in the restaurant, I would learn the business and save up enough money to open up my own," he said.

Marcantonis opened the Neptune in 1975, after owning eateries in Jersey City and Philadelphia.

"I came to Vineland because a friend who lived here told me that this place was for sale, and I thought that it would be a challenge to turn it into a successful venture," he said in 2000.

Source: http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20081210/NEWS01/812100311&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL