SURF CITY — The woman accused of murdering her 87-year-old father and his girlfriend inside his LBI home said she was framed and unaware she was wanted for their deaths.

The bodies of John Enders of Surf City, and Francoise "Frenchie" Pitoy, 75, of Manchester, were discovered by Surf City Police at Enders' home on North 7th Street on October 3.

Enders' daughter, Sherry Lee Heffernan, 55, was arrested at her Landenberg, Pennsylvania home on October 4 home and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

During her extradition hearing on Friday in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Heffernan told the judge she was “confused” and would have surrendered in New Jersey if she knew she was wanted for something, according to coverage by Daily Local News of West Chester. She asked for a phone call so she could hire a New Jersey attorney.

As she was escorted from the courtroom, she told a reporter she was not guilty and was being framed, Daily Local News reported.

Before being returned to New Jersey, Heffernan must face retail theft and receiving stolen property charges in neighboring Montgomery County since failing to appear for hearings following an October 2019 arrest by Upper Providence police, the newspaper reported.

Enders and Pitoy had been dating for 15 years, according to the affidavit in the case. Heffernan was upset that her father did not use her as the real estate broker in the sale of his LBI house priced at $2 million. She blamed Pitoy for pushing for the sale because she wanted Enders' money.

Francoise Pitoy
Francoise Pitoy (Surf City Volunteer Fire Company)
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The Surf City Volunteer Fire Co. remembered Pitoy on its Facebook page as an "active and much loved member" of the organization. Joan TumSuden in the comments of the post called her "the elegant hat lady."

"Our hearts are broken as we remember the light, love and laughter that Frenchie brought to us," the post says.

(Includes material copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Sherry Lee Heffernan
Sherry Lee Heffernan (Ocean County Prosecutors Office)
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Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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