SWAT Update: Severely Decomposed Body Found On Somerville Hoarder's Kitchen Floor, Cops Say

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

Harrowing new details have been released in a SWAT standoff over the weekend in Somerset County.

Police called to a home on Mastogen Drive in Somerville by a neighbor around 1:05 p.m. for a report of shots fired found Thomas M. Shaulis, 66, lying on a couch armed with four handguns near him and a severely decomposed body on the kitchen floor, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.

The call to police was made after a neighbor heard possible gunfire and then saw a man, later identified as Shaulis, go back into the home, the prosecutor said.

Somerville officers arrived and tried to reach the residents, “who were known to authorities,” but got no response, McDonald said.

While attempting contact, an officer looked through a window and saw an unresponsive female on the kitchen floor, officials said. Police then requested assistance from Bridgewater police to secure the area.

At 2:09 p.m., Somerville Police requested the Somerset County SWAT team.

The SWAT team, Crisis-Negotiations Team and tactical medics responded and attempted to reach the male resident. After several unsuccessful attempts, SWAT made entry at 3:18 p.m., McDonald said. That's when they found Shaulis in the living room and a dead woman in advanced stages of decomposition on the kitchen floor, according to Mcdonald. Authorities described the interior as “hoarder like conditions with an infestation of bed bugs.”

Detectives from Somerville Police, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations Unit and the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office responded to investigate. Shaulis was taken to a hospital, where he remains under observation.

Officials executed a search warrant and removed numerous firearms and ammunition from the home. During a neighborhood canvas, investigators also found two bullet holes to the outside of a home on Mastogen Drive near Shaulis' home.

A postmortem exam will be scheduled to confirm the woman’s identity and determine her cause and manner of death.

Shaulis was charged with second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose. He will be transported to the Somerset County Jail after being released from the hospital, authorities said.

The investigation is ongoing. Officials encouraged anyone with information to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Somerville Police, or submit anonymous tips through the STOPit app. They said all STOPit tips “will be kept confidential.”