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Police: New Milford Native, Wife, Mother Shot Dead by NC Neighbor

NEW MILFORD, N.J. -- A New Milford native, his wife and his mother were shot dead by their next-door neighbor in North Carolina, authorities said.

Sandy and Stephanie Mazzella

Sandy and Stephanie Mazzella

Photo Credit: FACEBOOK photo

UPDATE: A GoFundMe page aims to help their two surviving children, 14 and 7.

Sandy Mazzella, 47 -- who was graduated from New Milford High School in 1987 -- had been feuding for months with 52-year-old Jonathan Frederick Sander, according to various published reports.

Sander was being held on three counts of murder, Wake County Sheriff's Office records show.

They also show Sander charged with "communicating threats" last month -- although it couldn't immediately be determined whether the Mazzellas were involved.

Sheriff's deputies had been to the Wake Forest neighborhood to settle a dispute the morning of Friday night's shooting, reports said.

When they returned, they found the bodies of Mazzella; his wife, Stephanie Mazzella, 43; and his mother, Elaine Mazzella, 76.

The couple's 14-year-old daughter and Mazzella’s father were there but not injured, according to the sheriff.

Records show both Sandy Mazzella and Sander worked for Advanced Mowing & Landscaping Inc., which lists Mazzella as president on its website.

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