Autopsy Report Reveals How Brooke Hanlon Died. Who Killed Her Is Still a Mystery Nearly 150 Days Later
Brooke HanlonCredit: Brooke Hanlon/FacebookBrooke Hanlon was killed in her New Jersey home on June 6, and nearly 5 months later there have still been no arrests made in the case
PEOPLE obtained a copy of the autopsy report for Brooke Hanlon, the 35-year-old mother and psychotherapist who was killed in her Chester, N.J. home on June 6
Her cause of death is sharp force injuries and the manner is homicide, per the report
It has been almost 150 days since Brooke’s death and there have still been no arrests made in the case
On June 7, Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Di Wang conducted an autopsy of Brooke Hanlon.
The 35-year-old psychotherapist and new mom, who had given birth to her daughter less than a year prior, was found profusely bleeding from multiple wounds the day before by her husband James “Conor” Hanlon, who discovered her in the bedroom of their home in Chester — an affluent New Jersey enclave located close to New York City.
His attempts to save her life were unsuccessful, and Brooke’s cause of death is now confirmed to be “sharp force injuries,” according to the autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE. The manner of death is listed as homicide.
Brooke’s body was identified by her husband Conor, per the report, but he was not present for the procedure.
Instead, a member of the Chester Township Police Department, two members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office and three members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office were present to watch the autopsy.
Brooke HanlonCredit: Brooke Hanlon/Facebook
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At the time of her death, Brooke was wearing green shorts and a green tank top with a “yellow metal ring,” which would presumably be her wedding ring. She also wore a yellow metal necklace and a yellow hair tie, according to the report.
Little else is revealed, however, because almost all other details have been redacted — a practice that has become common in this case.
Officials did not release Brooke’s name for more than three weeks after her death, and since that time have declined to comment on any developments in the case.
Despite her all-too-brief life, Brooke made a giant impact on others, as evidenced in her obituary.
She is described as a “gift from God” and “a truly loving wife” who later became “an extraordinary mother to her darling Avery.”
“Her bond with her beloved Avery was spiritual, holy, and will be everlasting,” the obituary read.
She was a wonderful friend due to her “extraordinary kindness, friendship, loyalty, empathy, compassion, humility, generosity,” with a “passionate desire to help and support family, friends, and all those she counseled,” it continued.
Brooke moved to Chester at the age of 9 and stayed there until heading off to college at Wake Forest and then grad school at Northeastern University.
During those years, according to her obituary, Brooke also volunteered by “providing child care for children with autism and emotional challenges, working with underprivileged children in India who were facing various personal challenges, tutoring a young Spanish child during a study abroad in Seville, Spain, helping to raise money to build schools in Uganda, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and as a teacher’s aide at a pre-school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.”
It was while she was in Boston working towards her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology that she met Conor, and the two would spend the next decade together in Boston.
The couple wed in 2021, bought their home in Chester in 2024 and welcomed their daughter Avery in 2025. In July, Avery celebrated her first birthday just one month after her mother’s death.
The autopsy was not certified until Sept. 20, but occurred on day two of the investigation, which is now about to enter its sixth month without any arrests of persons of interest identified by officials.
When asked by PEOPLE about any possible developments in the case, a spokesperson for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment.
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