Tabernacle man arrested for 2016 Lumberton homicide

Suspect charged with murder and stalking

A 53-year-old Tabernacle man was arrested for killing a Lumberton Township resident inside of her home in July 2016. William M. Gennett, of the first block of Red Oak Drive in Tabernacle, was charged with first degree murder and fourth degree stalking. He is accused of using his hands to strangle Shannon O’Rourke, 45, inside of her home on Nassau Road July 5, 2016. Gennett was arrested Feb. 8 at his home in Tabernacle. While being transported to the Burlington County Jail he suffered a medical emergency and was taken to a medical facility, where he is under 24-hour guard.

The investigation revealed that O’Rourke and Gennett were friends, but that Gennett was using a cellphone app that allowed him to track her whereabouts without her knowledge. Gennett resided in Mount Holly at the time of O’Rourke’s murder. The motive for the killing is still being investigated.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death to be manual strangulation. The case was investigated by detectives from the Lumberton Township Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Scene Unit, High-Tech Crimes Unit and Major Crimes Unit.