Local
Salem County trial in Gaudreau brothers’ deaths set for Jan. 4, 2027
Sean M. Higgins is scheduled to face trial in Salem County in the deaths of hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. The case is expected to last three weeks and follows renewed disputes over crash-investigation records and evidence.
A trial for Sean M. Higgins, who is charged in the deaths of hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, is scheduled to begin Jan. 4, 2027, in Salem County Superior Court, a judge said Monday. Jury selection is set to start in early December, and the proceeding is expected to last about three weeks.
The case stems from an August 2024 collision in Oldmans Township. Prosecutors allege Higgins, 45, was over the legal blood-alcohol limit when he tried to pass an SUV on the right in his Jeep Grand Cherokee and struck the brothers as they rode bicycles home from their sister’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Johnny Gaudreau was 31 and Matthew was 29.
Higgins has pleaded not guilty. His charges include two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular manslaughter, two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. If convicted at trial, he could face up to 91 years in prison, according to the court proceedings described Monday.
Police found Higgins about a quarter-mile from the collision site, where his damaged vehicle had stalled. Prosecutors say he told officers he had consumed about six beers that day, including some while driving.
Higgins’ lawyers have continued to seek additional material from the state police investigation. In September, the defense asked prosecutors to clarify whether investigators had notes beyond the final crash report. The defense also asked the state to identify a man seen on a trooper’s body-camera video who, according to defense attorney Richard F. Klineberger III, remarked that the brothers’ condition did not “look good.”
Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern said the state had provided what it had and that witnesses would testify to information in the final report. He said prosecutors would check for any additional notes and turn over relevant documents if they existed. The dispute preceded the release this month of records on how police reconstructed the crash, including previously unseen photographs from the scene.
Klineberger has argued that the brothers’ own alcohol consumption and cycling in darkness without rear lights contributed to their deaths. Judge Michael Silvanio previously rejected the defense’s efforts to dismiss or reduce the charges, including a separate argument that prosecutors had misled the grand jury about Higgins’ blood-alcohol evidence.
Before setting the trial date, Silvanio asked Higgins whether he understood that proceeding to trial would forfeit the opportunity to accept a plea offer. The offer would require Higgins to plead guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and one count of driving while intoxicated, in exchange for a 28-year prison sentence. Higgins said he understood.