NJ Town Gadfly Killed, House Set On Fire

After battling a fire at a Teaneck, NJ home on Tuesday night, firefighters found the body of the owner, Joan Davis. Yesterday, it was determined that the 74-year-old was murdered and that the fire was set to cover up the killing. A neighbor told WABC 7, "Now that I hear it's a homicide, I'm shocked. In Teaneck? It doesn't happen here."

Davis was a familiar figure at Teaneck city council meeting and other community workshops. Councilman Elie Katz said, “She was on top of the Council meetings. I wouldn’t say rode hard. She was sometimes very supportive of what the Council was doing. And when she wasn’t supportive, she let us know."

The NY Times reports, "She also wrote hundreds of letters over the decades, blasting officials for municipal waste, mismanagement or malfeasance. She was a staunch advocate of township employees and environmental issues." Another resident said to 1010WINS, “Didn’t always agree with her politics. Didn’t always agree with her various opinions, but she was always respectful of my opinion and I was always respectful of hers, and we would often have nice discussions together."

Sources tell the Record that Davis' hands were bound and there was blunt force trauma to her head. It's unclear if she was dead or alive during the blaze.