A New Jersey morgue worker who was fired for leaking sensitive information regarding Johnny Gaudreau and his brother's deaths lost his appeal to have the decision overturned.
Connor McGlynn, 34, was let go from his position as morgue assistant at the Gloucester County Medical Examiner's Office in 2024 after he admitted to sharing details about their deaths to his friends on the night the siblings were fatally run over, the Courier Post reported.
Former NHL player Johnny and his brother, Matthew, were struck and killed by an SUV in August 2024 while riding bicycles near their Garden State hometown on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding.
The suspected driver, Sean Higgins, 45, was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated when he hit them that night. He's pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and aggravated manslaughter, among other charges, and is awaiting trial.
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| The former medical examiner assistant assigned to the case involving the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau will remain fired for leaking sensitive information about the tragic day |
Just hours after the crash, a photo of handwritten notes containing Johnny and Matthew's birth dates, home addresses, and details of the incident that were supposed to remain private, appeared in social media posts on X and Reddit.
The posts displayed a screenshot of a text chain between eight people, including McGlynn.
It also revealed the phone number of the state trooper who responded to the scene, leading the officer to get 'very upset' when his phone rang numerous times with people inquiring about the crash.
McGlynn later admitted to leaking the private information and was fired on September 23, 2024, but challenged the decision, the outlet stated.
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| Johnny (pictured with his wife Meredith on their wedding day) played professional hockey for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was known as 'Johnny Hockey' to his beloved fans |
The New Jersey Commission voted 3-2 on February 25 to uphold his termination, meeting documents released on Thursday.
The decision did not explicitly name the Gaudreau brothers, but the judge's ruling noted a date that matched the day of their deaths and referred to the victims' 'celebrity status,' per the outlet.
'McGlynn has no explanation of why he would send the picture to the text, other than that he was in disbelief and acted out of emotion,' said the ruling, made by Administrative Law Judge Allison Friedman.
Friedman's ruling did, however, state that McGlynn did not fail to perform his duties and did not post the information online himself.
He said he also found the ex-medical examiner employee to be 'remorseful, a valued employee,' and someone who 'has learned from his mistake.'
Johnny and Matthew died the day before their sister's wedding and before their children were born.
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| Sean Higgins, 45, was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated when he hit them that night. He is now awaiting trial |
At the time, Johnny's wife, Meredith Gaudreau, was pregnant with their third child, Carter, who she gave birth to in April 2025. They share two others, Noa and Johnny, together.
Matthew's wife, Madeline Gaudreau, gave birth to their first child, Tripp, in December 2024.
Their sister, Katie Gaudreau, is expecting her first child with her husband, Devin Joyce, whom she married in a rescheduled ceremony following her brother's deaths.
News of McGlynn's termination being held up comes just weeks after Higgins' defense attorney claimed toxicology data shows his client was under the legal limit at the time of the crash.
Because of that, his legal team is seeking full dismissal of the current charges against him following a review of the test results, the New York Post reported.
After the fatal crash, State troopers Mark Allonardo and Adam Crespo testified that they could detect the smell of alcohol on Higgins's breath after arresting him.
Higgins also allegedly claimed: 'I’ve been drinking beers, but I haven’t had one in like two hours.'
However, according to Higgins's lawyers, his blood alcohol concentration level was actually below the legal limit when he collided with the pair.
'It seems that it was plasma that was tested, not whole blood,' Klineburger revealed. 'Based upon our expert report, that brings the actual BAC reading down to .075'.
Previously, prosecutors had claimed that Higgins's BAC reading was .087.
Klineburger later suggested that the previous reading 'taints' the indictment and said that the alleged discrepancy could have 'impacted the grand jury' over their decision.
Prosecutor Michael Mestern said that he will now run the findings by his own team of experts. Should they find the new claims to be true, then prosecutors will be able to try to get a new indictment against Higgins.
Higgins is expected to back in court on April 14. Mestern will likely reveal whether his own team of experts agreed with the new BAC findings.
- EMMA RICHTER
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