Having worked his way up the ranks of the Toms River Police Department, Mastronardy was named Chief of the Department in November 1992. He was walking to the rear of the car, he said, when he was struck on the head and knocked unconscious. 8,376,755. Two years after the trial, Thompson sued Churchill, another investigator and then-Prosecutor Edward Turnbach for $50 million for wrongful prosecution. Cumber introduced Marshall to McKinnon at an Atlantic City casino in June 1984. Copyright 2000-2023 Location Inc. Realizing the farm is where New York and North Jersey mobsters sent their bodies, the FBI and local officials began excavating the farm but never found any other bodies. Marshall was involved in a 14-month affair with Sarann Kraushaar, a vice-principal at Pinelands Regional High School in Tuckerton, whom he told he wanted to "get rid of" his wife to use her insurance money to pay off his debt. After distributing the drugs, Barnes would fill the car with cash and return it to Madonna, according to the article. Save Murder Mystery Totally 80s Dinner Theater at the Historic Mathis House to your collection. Robert Oakley Marshall (December 16, 1939 - February 21, 2015) was an American businessman who in 1984 was charged with (and later convicted of) the contract killing of his wife Maria. Toms River is safer than 73% of the cities in the United States. See the the most wanted criminals from Toms River, Ocean County, NJ. Carbone was arrested and charged on March 4, 2021, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since that date. The event was eventually turned into a book and 1990 miniseries called Blind Faith. Carbone was also [] Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on October 28, 2021, Mary Carbone, 57, of Toms River, was indicted by a Grand Jury sitting in Ocean County on the charge of Murder in violation of N.J.S.A. Each family operates through groups of individuals known as crews and regimes. Each crew has as its leader, a person known as a caporegime, capo, captain or skipper, who is responsible for supervising the criminal activities of his crew and providing soldiers and associates with support and protection. Follow, The Official Twitter account of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office (Ocean County, New Jersey), ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT TEAM INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT The 2019 crime rate in Toms River, NJ is 87 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 3.1 times lower than the U.S. average. The 2019 Toms River crime rate fell by 5% compared to 2018. However, NeighborhoodScout analyzed all cities and towns in America with a similar population size to Toms River, and we found that the crime rate in Toms River is one of the lowest in the nation for its size. Howard Johnson Stabbing In Toms River Draws 15-Year Prison Sentence An Atlantic County man pleaded guilty in the March 2021 stabbing of a woman at the Howard Johnson motel; a clerk came to the. He died in South Woods State Prison on February 21, 2015. TOMS RIVER -- A state appeals court today upheld the conviction of a man found guilty of carjacking a Middletown teacher who secretly recorded their conversation before she was killed, but reduced . In 2006, with a moratorium on the death penalty in New Jersey, Marshall was resentenced to life imprisonment with no parole for 30 years. The house was recently on the real estate market after the passing of Joseph Celso who owned the farm from that time until he died in 2013. Convicted of arranging the murder of his wife, Maria, at a Garden State Parkway rest stop in 1984, Robert O. Marshall, 75, has died in prison. But it is not the only murder case from Ocean County that has garnered national headlines. It turned out, it was he who strangled the teenager and stole a safe from her home. It turned out Marshall hired two gunmen to kill his wife so he could collect a $1.5 million insurance policy. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); NJSP - State Police Early last year, investigators from Louisiana called the 70-year-old former lawman, now semi-retired, to talk about the Marshall case. 203062, likely succumbed to complications from a debilitating stroke he suffered over the summer, according to. If you drive down Cook Road in Jackson, youll see an unassuming faded yellow farmhouse surrounded by newer homes and a large new residential development. While pointing out flaws in the judicial process he believed failed him, Marshall also alleged that his trial was contaminated by police misconduct and compromised testimony and evidence. He later dumped her body into the river off of the bridge. How would he like to sit in on an interview Louisiana officials were planning to hold with an informant Churchill had used decades ago in the Marshall case? Upon arrival, Officers found the lifeless body of Mr. Stochel lying on the floor of the residence. Forecasters stated that while some sections of the state may have more snow and ice, others may experience rain and wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. TOMS RIVER, NJ - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has repeatedly stuck to his guns, saying the increase in whale deaths at the Jersey Shore is not related . The next thing he knew he had a knot on his head and was $2,000 lighter in the pockets. TOMS RIVER . Robert O. Marshall, 75, formerly of Toms River, who was also known as Prisoner No. [11] On May 12, 2006, Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher declined to retry the death-penalty phase of the case, citing as reasons the difficulty in presenting evidence more than 20 years after the crime, and the probability of many more legal appeals should Marshall be sentenced to death again. Senator questions governor, Shore Conference freshman leading Virginia Tech softball in batting, Toms River joins chorus of towns calling for a halt to offshore wind project amid a rise in whale deaths, Island Heights joins Toms River in shared garbage service agreement, Lakewoods Strand Theater announces board reorganization, New pulmonary hypertension center opens in Monmouth County, Admired Jackson Township school teacher named new mayor of Brick Township, 67-year-old man shot and killed inside Upper West Side apartment. FATAL TOMS RIVER TOWNSHIP STRUCTURE FIRE RULED ACCIDENTAL: VICTIM IDENTIFIED February 18, 2023 TOMS RIVER WOMAN INDICTED FOR TWO COUNTS EACH OF VEHICULAR HOMICIDE, STRICT LIABILITY VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AND ASSAULT BY AUTO February 16, 2023 ISLAND HEIGHTS POLICE DETECTIVE CHARGED WITH FALSE REPORT, CONTEMPT & WEAPON OFFENSES February 14, 2023 Use at your own risk. While returning home from a night out at Harrah's casino in Atlantic City that night, the Marshalls stopped at the picnic area after Robert Marshall pretended there was a problem with the right rear tire on their 1980 Cadillac Eldorado. All defendants arrested were scheduled to appear in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy on Wednesday. He was getting closer to nailing Thompson, the last piece of the puzzle. Carbone was also indicted on three counts of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. He's no longer a drain on anyone.". Then Churchill said he turned on the tape recorder and began asking Thompson a series of questions designed mainly for him to answer "yes" or "no.". Although Thompson beat the murder charge in 1986, two men were convicted in connection with her death. It was adapted into an Emmy-nominated 1990 TV miniseries of the same name starring Robert Urich as Marshall and Joanna Kerns as Maria. Thompson himself was acquitted of murder charges in 1986 due to testimony from family members that he was in Louisiana at the time of the killing. [4] Until his removal from New Jersey's death row, Marshall had been the longest-serving inmate there since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1982. Our nationally-comparable school ratings are covered under US Patent No. Toms River Annual Crimes Violent Crime Violent Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents) 20 15 10 5 0 0.75 1.68 National Median: 4 Toms River New Jersey My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Violent Crime 1 in 1,326 in Toms River 1 in 595 in New Jersey Toms River VIOLENT CRIMES Population: 92,830 United States VIOLENT CRIMES Population: 331,888,310 Crime risk indices are nationally comparable on a 1 100 scale, where 100 means safer than 100% of U.S. neighborhoods. Please check out our social media channels. Fifteen of the defendants charged were taken into custody on Wednesday. His first parole hearing will be in December. But if there was any doubt about whether Marshall felt regret or sorrow over what he had done to his family was illustrated in what then-Assistant Prosecutor Kevin W. Kelly revealed during Marshall's trial in 1986. While pointing out flaws in the judicial process he believed failed him, Marshall also alleged that his trial was contaminated by police misconduct and compromised testimony and evidence.[7]. 2C:11-3a(1), relative to the death of Frank Stochel in Manchester Township on February 24, 2020. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Another body was found in an oil drum filled with hydrochloric acid. Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Select your ideal criteria and let Scout do the rest. [4][7][8], The Marshall case attracted the attention of true crime author Joe McGinniss, whose book on the case, Blind Faith, was published in 1989 and became a bestseller. Harrison sat across the large art table from me that year and we were all in shock to learn she had been murdered and her body dumped in Goose Creek along Fischer Boulevard. McKinnon, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, testified that Marshall hired him to kill his wife and that he and Thompson drove ahead of Marshalls Cadillac Eldorado to the Oyster Creek Picnic area off the Garden State Parkway on Sept. 7, 1984, where Thompson, he said, shot and killed Maria Marshall. In January 2015, a parole board hearing for Marshall his first was approved and scheduled for March. ". Ritacco was a well-liked and powerful superintendent of the Toms River Regional Schoool District. The case became nationally known in part because of the Joe McGuinniss best-seller Blind Faith and the television miniseries that came out based on the book. Thompson was found not guilty of the crime in 1986, but Robert Marshall, Marias husband, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to death. You could hear their wings flapping a few hundred NJ Anchor Property Tax Rebate Deadline is Today, Participate and Celebrate National Pet Day, More Than 7K Take the Plunge in Seaside for the Special Olympics, Two Unsolved Murders in Toms River from 1974 Are Still Under Investigation, READ MORE: NY TIMES - 2 SLAYINGS SPAWN TOMS RIVER FEAR, TRENDING NOW: Nicole Nelson, Missing Woman from Jackson, NJ Has Been Located, State Funding to Toms River Schools To Be Reduced by $14.4 Million in 20232024, Get the Latest News & Alerts from the Toms River Police Department. The main reason for Thompsons acquittal in the Maria Marshall murder was an alibi sworn testimony from three family members that Thompson was in Louisiana on Sept. 7, 1984. "We have charged 19 members and associates of the Luchese Crime Family, including its entire administration the street boss, underboss and consigliere with serious racketeering offenses. Madonna's career in organized crime goes all the way back to the 50s. According to our analysis of FBI crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of crime in Toms River is 1 in 105. [9][7] Roby and Gold later married in 1994 and are currently raising four sons together. Moreover, the rate of property crime in Toms River; burglary, larceny ($50 or more), grand theft auto, and arson; is 9 per 1,000 residents. All defendants in crime reports are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Churchill asked whether he presented an alibi from people he knew were lying. In The River Murders, Ray Liotta plays a married police detective who becomes a suspect in a series of murders in which he is the only connecting link. Another man served a short jail sentence in exchange for testifying for the state, and a third man was sentenced to a life term for connecting Marshall to the murder-for-hire group, all of whom hailed from Louisiana. Now let us turn to take a look at how Toms River does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. The resolution of the case was also personal for Churchill. In the summer of 1984, Marshall had arranged the execution of his wife and the mother of his three sons, Maria Marshall, in an elaborate murder-for-hire scheme. Forensic characteristics: Strangled with her own belt. On the night of September 7, 1984, Robert O. Marshall of Toms River, New Jersey, an insurance broker and chairman of the Ocean County Chapter of the United Way fund, and his wife Maria were traveling north on the Garden State Parkway from Harrah's in Atlantic City when, according to Marshall, he felt a vibration in one of the car's tires. On February 24, 2020, Manchester Township Police responded to a residence on 6th Avenue in the Pine Lake Park section of the Township for a report of an unresponsive male. [4] Also arrested were 47-year-old Robert Cumber of Bossier City, Louisiana, 49-year-old James Davis of Shreveport, Louisiana and 42-year-old Billy Wayne McKinnon of Greenwood, Louisiana, who was a former Caddo Parish, Louisiana deputy officer. Further investigation ultimately determined that Carbone was the individual responsible for Mr. Stochels death. It turns out Ritacco was also taking bribes. Things We Did in the 80s That Are Completely Unacceptable Today, 10 Halloween Costumes That Might Offend Your Woke Neighbors in 2020, 10 Department Stores New Jerseyans Grew Up With in the 80s, But Are Now Gone. Thompson, now in his 70s, acknowledged his role while incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for his part in an unrelated armored-car robbery and the attempted murder of a Shreveport police officer years later. In April 2014, while incarcerated for other crimes, Thompson admitted to having committed the murder of Maria Marshall. Robert Marshall, a Toms River resident, and his wife Maria were heading home from a night in Atlantic City at Harrahs casino when Marshall decided to make a pit stop to check what he claimed to police officers was a vibration in one of his car tires. "We always knew he got off because of a lot of people lying," Churchill said yesterday. Marshall claimed he was knocked unconscious and woke not only to find his $15,000 winnings from Atlantic City gone, but his wife was shot dead in the front seat of his car with two gunshot wounds. Rest in peace, sir. "For the past 30 years of my life, I have lived with the reality of having a parent who is a monster," said Chris Marshall on Monday. 2008-2023 - Shore News Media & Marketing Ltd. Co. All rights reserved. In a crime story where the main victims were criminals themselves, investigators on Wednesday unearthed the dismembered remains of John Redman in an open field at 174 Asbury Road in Farmingdale,. In return, the capo typically receives a share of the illegal earnings of each of his crews soldiers and associates. [6], Marshall was convicted of capital murder for the murder-for-hire on March 5, 1986 and sentenced to death by lethal injection. Several Lucchese family mobsters who were arrested were also implicated in the November 2013 killing of notorious mob hitman. No penetrative rape reported. Like the New Jersey woman, Deanna Montgomery was shot at fairly close range while sitting in a car driven by her husband. https://ocponj.gov/toms-river-man-indicted-on-two-counts-of-murder/, OCEAN COUNTY LAUNCHES SPECIAL NEEDS REGISTRY Violent Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents), Property Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents). Uncle Scoopy's Movie House. [3][4], After a police investigation, Marshall was arrested on December 19, 1984. 7,043,501 and 7,680,859. Madonna would park a car full of heroin in a Manhattan parking lot, which would be picked up by Barnes. The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Since the day after Marshalls conviction 28 years ago, Jim Churchill, then a lieutenant in the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, said he has kept a 4-by-4-inch photograph of Maria Marshall with him wherever he goes, sometimes on a bulletin board, or on his desk, but never very far away a daily reminder to him and so many others that the case wasnt really closed. He wasnt handcuffed or shackled. Forecasters say the timing and . admin commented on Get the Latest News & Alerts from the Toms River Police Department. [4][14][15][16], "Robert O. Dead End at Toms River: A Bizarre Murder Mystery In Philadelphia Magazine (1970-1980), Uncategorized on February 2, 2011 at 9:41 am A BLOODY INQUEST INTO THE MUTILATION CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY By Maury Z. Ultimately, the eldest sons, Roby and Christopher Marshall, who were 19 and 18 respectively at the time of their mother's death, came to terms with their father's guilt. "His earliest parole date would be Oct. 11, 2071," said Pam Laborde, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Corrections. https://ocponj.gov/ocean-county-launches-special-needs-registry/, Find fun things to do in Toms River, NJ How does Toms River fare compared to other communities in New Jersey of all population sizes? In December of 2016, teenager Sarah Stern went missing. #dailyvoice #cliffviewpilot #njsp #policeinvolved https://dailyvoice.com/pennsylvania/montgomery/news/nj-troopers-justified-in-shooting-driver-from-poconos-who-shot-dog-grand-jury-rules/857983/#667, A country music song played on the car stereo as a Pennsylvania driver who'd just crashed into a ditch off Route 80 shot his dog and was then shot and killed by two New Jersey State Police troopers. He was released from prison in . Other US patent applications are currently pending. Cumber, who had introduced Marshall to McKinnon, was convicted as an accomplice and sentenced to life in prison (he was released in 2006). After a June 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision raised the standard for a defense lawyer's duty in death penalty cases, many standing death sentences began to be overturned. People noted that their younger brother John had, conversely, always believed in Marshall's innocence. Raw data sources: This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations. Yesterday, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office announced Thompsons confession, essentially closing the case. A week later, Churchill received another signed affidavit. Authorities have charged a 39-year-old Toms River man with the shooting death of two men in a Lakewood apartment complex on Sunday morning. Cumber was convicted of being an accomplice to murder and sentenced to life in prison. Christopher remembered him and seemed receptive to the information. Key findings. Murder Mystery Totally 80s Dinner Theater at the Historic Mathis House. 9:10. Gardens Of Pleasant Plains / Homestead Run. Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@app.com. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). A day before the announcement of Thompsons confession from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, the Caddo Parish District Attorneys Office announced the arrest of James Montgomery on second-degree murder charges in the death of his wife on Jan. 1, 1979. Case narratives of over 25 unsolved murders of girls, teenagers and women in New Jersey, 1960-1980.