A New Jersey morgue worker’s firing has been upheld after he leaked details about the deaths of hockey brothers (mattygaudreau11/Instagram)
A New Jersey court has upheld the firing of a morgue employee accused of leaking details about the deaths of NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, fellow hockey player Matthew Gaudreau, following their fatal accident in 2024.
The decision came after the New Jersey Civil Service Commission reviewed the case and rejected the worker’s request for a reduced penalty. According to The Courier-Post, the commission supported the original decision to terminate the employee after determining that he violated a nondisclosure agreement tied to his job.
The worker, who was 14 at the time of the incident, allegedly shared information about the brothers’ deaths in a private group chat shortly after their bodies were brought to the morgue. The Gaudreaus had been killed in a tragic bicycle crash just one day before their sister’s wedding.
Officials said the employee sent his friends a photo of his notes related to the case. Many of the recipients reportedly played hockey, and the message was meant to explain why he would not attend a game that evening.
Investigators later concluded that the employee had shared “confidential information to his friend group,” which violated the agreement he had signed before starting his job. According to reports, one of the recipients then posted the information on social media, causing it to spread publicly.
The leak prompted media inquiries to New Jersey State Police as reporters attempted to confirm the details of the deaths.
When questioned, the employee reportedly said he had no clear explanation for sending the confidential information. He told investigators he was shocked by the tragedy and acted “out of emotion,” according to The Courier-Post.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, died after they were struck by a vehicle while riding their bicycles in Oldmans Township. The crash occurred just days before a planned family wedding.
Authorities charged Sean Higgins in connection with the incident. Prosecutors filed multiple charges, including first-degree aggravated manslaughter, reckless vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and tampering with physical evidence.
Higgins has denied responsibility and is seeking to have the charges dismissed. His legal team argues that he was not intoxicated at the time of the crash and claims the blood alcohol test used by investigators was faulty, according to reporting from The New York Times.
Johnny Gaudreau, who played for the Calgary Flames and the Columbus Blue Jackets during his NHL career, is survived by his wife, Meredith, and their children. The couple had daughter Noa, 3, and son Johnny, 2, before Meredith gave birth to their second son, Carter, in April.
Matthew Gaudreau is survived by his wife, Madeline. She welcomed their son, Tripp, four months after Matthew’s death.
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