A quiet suburban neighborhood. A successful psychotherapist. A devoted wife and new mother. In the middle of a June afternoon, 35-year-old Brooke Hanlon was found fatally stabbed inside her New Jersey home—a crime so shocking that, weeks later, investigators still had no named suspect and few public answers. As the mystery deepens and authorities continue searching for clues, one question continues to haunt her family and community: who killed Brooke Hanlon, and why?
As some background into Brooke, her father is Joseph Haggerty, who is referred to as a “big pharma attorney” in some articles. Her mother’s name has not yet been made public and she also had a sister named Paige.
“Brooke was the sweetest, purest person that I have ever known in my entire life,” said Paige. She went on to say, “Everything that I know, I have learned from her. I’ve never lived without her. She taught me everything.”
Brooke met James “Conor” Hanlon while Brooke was studying for her master’s degree in clinical psychology in the Northeastern University area. They married in 2021.
According to her LinkedIn, Brooke received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wake Forest University in 2013. She also earned her master’s degree in counseling psychology from Northeastern University in 2015. Her LinkedIn described her as having “diverse experience in various settings working with children, adolescents, and families in need of counseling, therapeutic assistance, resources, and other support.”
Hanlon volunteered for Habitat for Humanity International in 2011 and for a church in 2010. She was a highly regarded therapist, with her most recent position listed as a psychotherapist for LifeStance, located in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
Brooke and Conor lived in Boston for nearly a decade before moving back to Brooke’s hometown of Chester Township, New Jersey in 2023. They welcomed their first child, a daughter, in July 2025.
Court records indicate the couple purchased their Chester home for $535,900 in September 2024.
Chester Township has a population of approximately 7,800 residents, making it a small, close-knit community where violent crime is relatively uncommon.
The township is one of the wealthiest communities in New Jersey, with a median household income of about $242,000 (2020–2024 Census estimates)—roughly three times the U.S. median household income.
Fox News Digital confirmed Conor was an employee at TriCon Construction Services in Somerville, New Jersey. The CEO of the company, Edward Piekarz, chose not to comment when asked questions by the media.
On Saturday June 6, 2026, a 911 was placed from Brooke and Conor’s home at around 4.30pm. The caller said that Brooke was in cardiac arrest. The identity of the caller was not made public at the time.
While en route, an update came through from the dispatcher, who told responding units: “The caller did advise that they have a large laceration on the breast.”
On the call, when asked if the injury was traumatic, the dispatcher said he did not know.
The dispatcher also informed units that CPR was being performed on the victim, but she was later pronounced dead at the home.
Multiple neighbors told media agencies that they all texted Conor immediately after seeing swarms of police cars and officers at the family’s home on the afternoon of June 6.
He never responded and has not been seen at the house since, they said.
One week later, the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was multiple sharp force injuries, and the manner of death was homicide.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO), Chester Township Police Department and Morris County Sheriff’s Office CSI,” the prosecutor’s office said in June 2026.
The agency announced that it is “seeking the public’s assistance with providing any information concerning the death of Brooke Hanlon or suspicious activity observed in the area of Pottersville Road” on the day of her murder.
The Morris County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who has information that leads to an arrest.
“No further information can be released at this time in order to protect the integrity of the investigation,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Joseph has spoken to the media. ‘It’s hard to put into words what a wonderful woman and mother she was,’ he said.
‘She was remarkable in every way. She was also very, very good at her job. She was a child therapist and really helped people,’ he said.
PEOPLE ran an article about this case on July 6, a month after Brooke was murdered.
A family member who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing investigation tells PEOPLE that Brooke’s daughter is currently being cared for by family members but would not say if she was being cared for by her father.
Attempts to reach her husband were unsuccessful.
The home that Brooke and her husband shared with their daughter appeared to be untouched in the aftermath of the murder, with the couple’s two cars sitting outside the house in the same spots and the curtains hanging at the exact same height every day for three weeks.
A local resident tells PEOPLE that one of those cars is no longer outside the residence.
Neighbors have spoken about the murder.
‘At first they told us there was no danger to the public but detectives are still coming around asking questions two weeks later,’ one local said.
‘Nothing makes any sense,’ another neighbor said. ‘Why aren’t they telling us anything?’
Jennifer Payne, who met Brooke at Northeastern in 2013 and was her close friend and roommate for several years in Boston, told the Daily Mail that she was ‘sweet’ and ‘great at her job’ but she never liked Conor.
‘He used to flake on her a lot, he wasn’t reliable,’ Payne said. ‘I even said to her once I think you could do better but she wanted to get married and I think she was invested in him. She did not have great self-esteem.
‘His personality was blah and he didn’t seem to have much motivation or ambition.
‘I always felt Brooke could have done better. But I never saw him act violent or aggressive to her or anyone else.’
Conor has retained legal representation in recent weeks.
Interesting quote about Joseph –
Joseph, who was a top general counsel for drug companies including Mylan and Aventis, said his entire family was devastated by the tragedy but even he refused to go into specifics about his daughter’s demise.
He was cagey, too, when asked about the location of his 36-year-old son-in-law.
He said the couple’s toddler was fine. However it wasn’t immediately clear who was caring for her in the wake of her mother’s death.
“I hope she was not miserable toward the end of things,” said Jennifer Payne, a close friend and former roommate of slain New Jersey therapist Brooke Hanlon.
Paige has said that Brooke’s daughter “has been the only saving grace” to her family throughout the tragedy. She said, “We still have a piece of Brooke with us.”
“It’s unimaginable. It’s a complete nightmare. To lose a sibling is the last thing you would expect. I went through life with my sister in every phase of my life so far. I don’t know a life without her. So, trying to adjust to that is pretty impossible.”
In the days prior to recording, the 911 call made in this case was released. We learned that Brooke’s husband Conor made the call.
“I just found my wife [inaudible] CPR, I need CPR instructions,” Conor can be heard saying in the 911 call, obtained by the outlet. “I need you here. I need you here immediately.”
SOURCE LIST
https://people.com/psychotherapist-new-mom-brooke-hanlon-stabbed-death-11998310
https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/brooke-hanlon-new-jersey-psychotherapist