Curious about a 30 year old murder

I like many people are a reader of Weird NJ, and came across two articles and many letters and comments about a murder of a Jeanette DePalma in the 70's. She lived in Springfield NJ and her body was found in or near the Quarry that over looks 78. I was curious to know if anyone had any information, has heard anything, etc about this cold case. It has gone unsolved for all this time. Please help out. email MJewels828@aol.com

I knew Jeanette--her sister Cindy was my best friend....

Debbie wrote:

I knew Jeanette--her sister Cindy was my best friend....

What do you think happened to her?

i knew jeanette well-went thru grade school with her and had started high school with her until she was murdered.the weird nj articles had a number of errors in them but were generaly accurate.there were many rumors when her body was discovered and it is hard to sort fact from fiction at this point.she was a good person and a good friend and i still wonder what happened even after all these years.i hope she rests in peace.

WOW, I graduated Dayton in 1973 and i can remember she was supposed to be sitting next to me in geography class. she never showed and then later it came out that it was a satantic type of murder.

I currently go to Dayton. And I'm trying to do an in depth investigation on this very case for my senior project. and i just keep coming up with dead ends as well. i know many people that lived in that area.:( its really a crappy thing that happened. theres a plaque for her in Halsey Hall (auditorium) but i never really got a close enough look. if anyone knows anything, email me please?
poeticallytragic@hotmail.com
maybe we can figure it out, maybe im just a wishful thinker

I graduated Jonathan Dayton High School in 1975 so Jeanette was a couple of years older than I. I knew who she was but really didn’t know her. Looking back, I don’t think that the police investigated that case enough, but I don’t think it was a result of some sort of cover-up. I think that is was more a case of police incompetence. Springfield was a small town back then (approx. 10,000 people) and the police simply didn’t not have the knowledge or training to handle a murder investigation. Their normal duties were pretty much traffic enforcement, code enforcement and an occasional burglary. They had one detective and I don’t think that he had any sort of formal training. As matter of fact a couple of years after Jeanette’s murder, there was second murder (Barbara Manoff) who was the wife of a prominent attorney. She was found dead in her home in an area of Springfield known as “Springfield Top”. To my knowledge, that case went unsolved as well. I didn’t read the Weird NJ article since it is not available online and I moved to Florida many years ago. I do remember that in a Newspaper at the time, the police claimed to have a lead of a mysterious drifter that they wanted to question (some sort of weird nickname like Red Keira or something), but that went nowhere.

melissa wrote:

i knew jeanette well-went thru grade school with her and had started high school with her until she was murdered.the weird nj articles had a number of errors in them but were generaly accurate.there were many rumors when her body was discovered and it is hard to sort fact from fiction at this point.she was a good person and a good friend and i still wonder what happened even after all these years.i hope she rests in peace.

This is my cousin. I need to help her. I know there are sceptics that don't believe in the paranormal, but I do and this case needs to be solved, it's been too long, WAY too long. I'm not a nutcase, believe me. I had doubts myself but this is just something I know I need to do for her. The police have apparently dropped the ball on this case something has to wake them up & get them back on it! If you have any idea how I can get in contact with the family, please let me know. As you will see when you keep reading on, she died before I was born & when my parents divorced, my mom sadly kept me away from dad's side.

Again, although we never met (she was killed @6 weeks before I was born), we have become very close these past two weeks. She's been talking to me through my reader. She too was trying to contact Jeanette & justify her case and help her. I first thought since her death & my birth were so close I may be Jeanette, but I am not. Her spirit has been with me since the day I was born & still is. She is not able to move on until her killer is brought to justice and some facts get straightened out!

Here are the facts we were able to get from her... she was both stabbed & strangled as well as raped (althought the police deny that as she had her pants on when she was found ... brilliant police work guys). The story Weird NJ wrote was a warped & twisted.... basically a farce for the most part. Although some facts are true, they added their own to sell their magazine. This is WRONG.. stop buying their magazine people, they are trying to make a profit off my cousins death! This has angered her and she wants everyone to know. She also wants her murderer captured. He is still alive. Anyone who may have information that may help me to let my cousins spirit move on to the path she was destined to travel like friends or boyfriends & such she may have had... PLEASE let me know. 35 years is TOO long, WAY too long. Please help

Thank you

Sincerely,
Tina Carrion

My son graduated from JDHS in 2006 and did his senior project on Jeanette's murder. I don't know if anyone will ever be held accountable for her death, alot of time has passed. I know my son sent in all his research to the cable show Cold
Case but never heard back. I agree with Tina's request, 35 years is WAY TOO LONG. If anyone knows anything you really should speak up.

Lola wrote:

My son graduated from JDHS in 2006 and did his senior project on Jeanette's murder. I don't know if anyone will ever be held accountable for her death, alot of time has passed. I know my son sent in all his research to the cable show Cold
Case but never heard back. I agree with Tina's request, 35 years is WAY TOO LONG. If anyone knows anything you really should speak up.

Lola, is there anyway I can get that info??? Please? I want to research this and add some "heat" to this cold case. Thanks

My mom used to live right by the Depalma's and this case has always interested me. I have read alot on the case and I do believe that she was denied a fair investigation by police for whatever reason. I have noticed that a lot of people claim that the weird new jersey story is false, does anyone know why ppl claim that the weird nj story is a fabrication? What details did they lie about?

I was a child living near Springfield when Barbara Manoff was found murdered. I always wondered what happened. Makes sense that there wasn't enough expertise at the time to investigate fully.

I also graduated from Dayton in 1975. Barbara Manoff's murder was a huge story at the time. Years later, my mother told me that people speculated that someone from town (I worked for this man for a couple of summers) committed the murder. Although it was supposed to appear as a mob hit (don't know if this was believable), it was actually a murder for hire. I don't have anything concrete about this case, but it's been a rumor. By the way, the man I mentioned above has been dead for at least 20 - 25 years.

Also, I knew both Cindy and Jeanette DePalma. Over the years I have wondered who killed her. Now that we have DNA testing, is it possible that they might be able to use it in both cases? Or, is any DNA too degraded?

Len wrote:

I graduated Jonathan Dayton High School in 1975 so Jeanette was a couple of years older than I. I knew who she was but really didn’t know her. Looking back, I don’t think that the police investigated that case enough, but I don’t think it was a result of some sort of cover-up. I think that is was more a case of police incompetence. Springfield was a small town back then (approx. 10,000 people) and the police simply didn’t not have the knowledge or training to handle a murder investigation. Their normal duties were pretty much traffic enforcement, code enforcement and an occasional burglary. They had one detective and I don’t think that he had any sort of formal training. As matter of fact a couple of years after Jeanette’s murder, there was second murder (Barbara Manoff) who was the wife of a prominent attorney. She was found dead in her home in an area of Springfield known as “Springfield Top”. To my knowledge, that case went unsolved as well. I didn’t read the Weird NJ article since it is not available online and I moved to Florida many years ago. I do remember that in a Newspaper at the time, the police claimed to have a lead of a mysterious drifter that they wanted to question (some sort of weird nickname like Red Keira or something), but that went nowhere.

I recently had a psychic friend pick up impressions about Jeanette.She says her spirit is earthbound and if so I would like to see her find peace.Feel free to contact me as I'd like to know more about her.And anyone esle who has info please contact me at equinox9000@hotmail.com

I had a psychic friend pick up impressions about Jeanette.She came up with the name Melissa.I wondered if it was someone Jeanette knew.If you come across this, please contact me at equinox9000@hotmail.com

The above messages were for Tbear and Melissa

Adrianne wrote:

I had a psychic friend pick up impressions about Jeanette.She came up with the name Melissa.I wondered if it was someone Jeanette knew.If you come across this, please contact me at equinox9000@hotmail.com

i don't know if i'm that melissa but we were friends for many years and something always pulls me back to finding out what happened to jeanette.i will email you to see if i can help.

i am the melissa from previous postings and will respond to any questions that i may be able to answer.if there is any new info regarding jeanette's murder i would like to know.thank you.

Adrianne and Melissa i'd really like to hear from you. Especially you Melissa. Jeanette has told me a few things via my reader like a name. You may be able to clarify things she says or I'd even pay my reader to do a reading with her over the phone. Maybe Jeanette would say something to you to help me. Adrianne, I'd really like to hear what your friend told you. lets get in touch

TBear wrote:

Adrianne and Melissa i'd really like to hear from you. Especially you Melissa. Jeanette has told me a few things via my reader like a name. You may be able to clarify things she says or I'd even pay my reader to do a reading with her over the phone. Maybe Jeanette would say something to you to help me. Adrianne, I'd really like to hear what your friend told you. lets get in touch

i would love to talk to you about jeanette.even tho it has been 37 years,i still can't get what happened to jeanette out of my mind.my address is corkymel@comcast.net.