- Recent developments in the aftermath of the double homicide of Lauren Semanchik and Tyler Webb at the hands of Semanchik's ex-boyfriend and state trooper, Lieutenant Ricardo Santos.

The families of Semanchik and Webb are filing suit, alleging that several police agencies failed to step in when called upon for help before the situation turned fatal.

I'm joined by senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan, who's been covering the case.

Where does the case stand right now?

Joanna, the murder of Lauren Somanchuk and her date Tyler Webb shocked the public, not just because the alleged shooter served with Jersey State Police.

Somanchuk reported that after she broke up with Lt. Ricardo Santos, her ex-boyfriend harassed her, stalked her, keyed her car.

She was frightened, and records show she contacted at least three different police agencies asking for help that her family says never came.

They're filing a lawsuit against the system they say failed the victims, according to attorney Beth Baldinger.

Complete and utter failure, a failure that took place in the context of police officers being asked to be accountable for the actions of one of their own.

It's something that we call the blue wall of silence or the code of blue in which officers will take care of and protect one of their own.

We believe that that is exactly what happened in this circumstance.

Now records show that Lawrence Szymanski reached out to a New Jersey State Police trooper who knew Lieutenant Santos described what was going on, but that never got reported to Internal Affairs.

Apparently, Dr. Symanski also called Washington Township Police to report that her car had been keyed.

But Bollinger says police again failed to follow policy.

Instead of doing what they were required to do, again, contact Santos' supervisors and New Jersey State Police Internal Affairs.

What did they do?

They actually picked up the phone, and they called Santos, a lieutenant, and asked him, "Did you key Dr. Semanchik's car and damage it?

Have you been harassing and calling her?"

Well, of course he denied keying her car.

What lieutenant in the New Jersey State Police Department would admit to committing a crime?

Although he did admit to calling her.

And what did they do?

They told him to back off, to stop calling her, so that he did not escalate the situation.

Again, they failed her.

Now, Baldinger says Franklin Township police also didn't take a domestic violence report and instead directed Semanchik to make a phone call.

But they never called her back.

On August 1, her neighbors called 911 to report gunshots and screams.

Police drove by, but it was Semanchik's father who discovered her and Webb's bodies the next morning.

Lieutenant Santos was later found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.

Experts like Professor Leigh Goodmark, who studies cases of police involved with domestic violence, say they're not surprised by how this unfolded.

You hear people talk about the thin blue line as the kind of that camaraderie, that brotherhood among police officers.

And because of that loyalty among police officers, they may be less likely to intervene appropriately when someone makes a complaint against one of their fellows.

Now, New Jersey's major discipline report shows that out of almost five hundred and forty officers fired, suspended or retired due to serious infractions last year, just 34 involved domestic violence.

In about half the cases, the officers were the perpetrators, but more than a dozen were cited for failing to properly report a domestic violence incident.

Goodmark believes that number probably doesn't reflect reality.

They have contact with all of the resources that someone who is subjected to abuse might reach out to.

They have contact with all of the shelters.

They know where the shelters are.

They work with the shelters on a regular basis.

They are in courtrooms on a regular basis.

And so if you went to a judge and asked for a protective order or asked for a prosecution, these are judges and prosecutors who are working with these officers every day.

They are parts of the system that we have entrusted with the safety of victims of intimate partner violence.

And because they are parts of that system, it is very, very difficult to protect people whose abusers are police officers.

Now, policy dictates that, after a domestic violence complaint is lodged against a police officer, his service weapon is confiscated.

That could have made the difference here, Joanna.

Yeah, Brenda, what can you tell us right now about the status of the investigation?

Well, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office has taken control of the Franklin Police Department and is leading the investigation into the case.

Both Franklin's police chief and a sergeant are on administrative leave.

None of the agencies involved would comment on the case when we asked.

It's really remarkable.

What do you know about the family's request from this lawsuit?

What are they seeking?

Well, they are asking for compensation for their loss, for their emotional pain.

But they're also looking for reform so that this never happens again.

Symanchick was a much beloved veterinarian in the area.

Tyler Webb was a volunteer fireman.

There's GoFundMe accounts to help the families involved.

What they would like to be the legacy of these two victims of domestic violence is that no other families have to go through this, Joanna.

I have to ask, is there any indication at this point that the Attorney General's office is going to get involved?

Have we heard anything from that office yet?

We have not.

I think that the Huntington County Prosecutor's Office at this point is leading this investigation.

And do we have any indication as to where they're going with this and whether there will be collaboration between the departments?

They're refusing comment.

Right now, I think they are still gathering evidence.

We would very much like to have a conversation with them, but it's understandable that they're going to be going through all of the records to make sure in a double homicide that everything is covered.

Brenda Flanagan, senior correspondent.

Great reporting.

Thank you so much.

Thanks Joanna.

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