while they did not dispute that their father had died of the stab wounds and smoke inhalation, the sheridan brothers campaigned vigorously to have john sheridan's manner of death changed to "undetermined" from suicide, based on baden's recommendation, and for soriano to not be reappointed county prosecutor when his term expired. newspaper reporting about the case revealed extensive problems with the state's medical examiner system in general and how it handled the sheridans' case in particular. a detective who had investigated the case early on claimed in a suit, later dismissed, against the prosecutor's office that he had been retaliated against after complaining that other detectives mishandled and even threw away key evidence in the case.