A shocking series of events led to the discovery of Jeannette DePalma’s body in the woods where it had been “left to rot,” but the teen’s suspected murder remains shrouded in mystery 50 years later.
On Sept. 19, 1972, a dog returned from a frolic in a wooded area with an object in its mouth, and started “playing with it” on the lawn of a nearby apartment building in Springfield, New Jersey.
Moments later, the pet’s owner went to inspect what appeared to be a “large bone” and screamed when she realized it was “a human arm,” according to police reports obtained by The Daily Beast. The Springfield Police Department was called to the scene, and attending officers later recounted what they saw upon arriving at the woman’s home.
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“She took me to the rear door of her apartment and in a bluish bag she handed me the arm of a female,” Officer J. Schwerdt said in the report.
“The lower left arm. On the fingernails was a whitish nail polish.”
Jeanette DePalma, inset, and clippings of the media coverage of her suspected murder.
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettySearch parties then scoured the Houdaille Quarry behind the residential building. It wasn’t long before they stumbled across an “upper arm bone” and then the rest of the corpse, face down and fully clothed in a small clearing on top of a steep hill.
“Around the body were logs across the head down the right side and a small branch under both feet,” Schwerdt stated in the report.
Chief Medical Examiner Bernard Ehrenberg was also called to the scene where he pronounced the girl, who was unidentified at the time, dead.
Dental records later confirmed that the body belonged to 16-year-old local high school student, Jeannette DePalma, who had been reported missing by her mother six weeks earlier.
“She was found… lying face down with a rock formation surrounding her body,” Ehrenberg wrote in his medical examiner’s report.
He determined that an autopsy could not be performed because of the “marked state” of decomposition. For this same reason, a cause of death could not be determined so was listed as “suspicious” rather than as a homicide.
A skeletal examination and X-Rays showed that the body revealed no evidence of bullet holes, fractures or traumatic injury, according to the report.
The case remains unsolved today.
But one theory that dominated initial media coverage has lingered for decades after rumors circulated that DePalma’s body was found surrounded by sticks that had been formed into the outline of crosses and a coffin.
News headlines about the investigation into DePalma’s death screamed: “Murder probe sheds light on witchcraft cult” and “Jersey murder probe throws light on witchcraft.”
The Associated Press reported at the time that “authorities said Jeannette’s death may be linked to a ‘coven’ or witchcraft assembly thought to exist in the area.”
Then-Springfield Police Chief George Parsell was quoted in the article as saying: “I heard that some people from the department supposedly brought a witch out there (to help with the investigation) but I know nothing about it,” he said.
There were also reports of devil worship, with locals sharing stories about children holding seances, praying to Satan and sacrificing chickens, pigeons, and an occasional goat in the park around the nearby Watchung Reservation. And then there was the name of the cliff where DePalma’s body was found: Devil’s Teeth.
Reverend James Tate, the pastor of the church DePalma attended, told reporters he believed satanists captured and killed the teen because of her faith.
“She was so religious that she would often talk to friends and acquaintances about God,” he said at the time.
He claimed that she had tried to lecture devil worshippers about Christ, and “their fanaticism arose and they killed her” but conceded his theory was based on no more than a personal belief. However, it’s one that has been shared by many others too.
Jeanette DePalma’s death was linked to claims of witchcraft and Satan worshipping.
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyEdward Salzano, now 59, grew up around Springfield and also believes “an evil group of satanists killed Jeannette.”
Salzano was a close friend of DePalma’s nephew John Blancey—who lived with his aunt at the time of her death, according to Freedom of Information documents obtained by The Daily Beast.
He said the pair took it upon themselves to try and solve the case when it appeared police had reached a dead end. Blancey died about four years ago, which made Salzano even more determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to DePalma, despite having never met her.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Salzano said he has spoken to many of DePalma’s friends, family members and acquaintances, as part of his independent investigation into her death over the last eight years. And, according to him, there’s one common thread: “They’re all scared to death,” he said.
Of what, he says he doesn’t know, but Salzano insists there’s a “gigantic coverup” and that almost everyone he has spoken to with knowledge about the case or DePalma shares his belief that “a satanic cult targeted Jeannette and killed her.” He said DePalma was a “devout Christian” who “would preach to the other people about leaving satanism and witchcraft behind.” He believes this made her a target and even has an unverified theory about the timing of DePalma’s death.
“The lore is there,” he said.
“They wanted to kill someone—a child—for Halloween and that’s what they did.”
Salzano also claims he developed a relationship with the last person to see DePalma alive—one of her girlfriends who has since died—and who he believes was involved in the cult, and possibly her friend’s death.
“She would call me in the middle of the night,” he said.
“One thing she never stopped talking about was the satanic cult.
“(Jeannette) was set up.”
For years, rumors swirled around Springfield about other possible suspects: a transient who worked nearby; a watchman; and a guy who drove a red Ford, among others. But police couldn’t find anything to connect these people to the crime.
There was even speculation that her death was the work of a serial killer.
A New Jersey State Police investigation report obtained by The Daily Beast shows that officials explored the possibility that DePalma was the victim of a potential serial killer by comparing her case to four other murders in the area but ultimately found they had “no similarities.”
Investigators also looked into the possibility of an accidental drug overdose or suicide but also found no evidence to support either theory.
Leads in DePalma’s case eventually dried up and the case went cold until a letter to the editors of Weird New Jersey, a magazine devoted to local folklore and legends, revived interest in DePalma’s death in 1997.
Then in 2015, authors Jesse P. Pollack and Mark Moran released a book on the case, Death on the Devil’s Teeth: The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey and presented theories but no concrete answers about what happened to DePalma.
In 2019, the writers obtained a case file with photos of the body, which cast doubt on the cult theory. An expert in satanic imagery said that the arrangements of rocks, sticks, and logs appear to be naturally placed and not the work of devil worshippers.
Springfield Police Chief John Cook told The Daily Beast the case had not received any new evidence.
“What I can say on this case right now is that it is still an active case of a suspicious death, as there has not been any evidence, as of yet, to be able to officially rule it a homicide,” he said.
Salzano—who unsuccessfully sued the Union County Prosecutor’s Office in hopes of compelling the agency to test DePalma’s clothing and fingernail scrapings for DNA—believes there’s only one way to get to the bottom of who killed DePalma.
“We need to establish a cause of death by making the X-Rays public… and (advanced) DNA testing needs to be done,” he told The Daily Beast.
“We’ve heard everything (about how she died) from strangulation, to being shot with an arrow, to being bashed in the head.
“An independent body other than the county’s office needs to go over it.”
Today, a Facebook page—Justice for Jeannette DePalma)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://mailtrack.io/trace/link/8d3767d3c5392dee39fe67b567a1bb1958488793?w=TWF0aGV3Lk11cnBoeUB0aGVkYWlseWJlYXN0LmNvbQ==&url=https*3A*2F*2Fwww.facebook.com*2FJusticeForJeannetteDePalma&userId=7860692&signature=26049bcffbe27089__;JSUlJQ!!LsXw!SjdXvdP1fFn7kXDWqgHHj2Lrl12HWBWUZm6tFw34O66K-1UTJT9BuKdQpaNAPpzGBlI1azX-iQfwcJERzkxb2-Swgcm86P6k8OU$">Justice for Jeannette DePalma—run by Salzano and his partner is dedicated to keeping her memory alive and seeking answers.
“The major reason her murder cannot be investigated and solved is there is no determined cause of death, so her case is still ruled a ‘suspicious death,’” Salzano said.
“This horrible murder will never be solved until this first step is taken.
“Jeannette had just turned 16 and was a sweet, loving person who believed in God and was brutally murdered and left in the woods to rot… and we want Justice for Jeannette DePalma before its to0 late.”
Springfield’s deputy mayor Chris Weber, who is also a retired Newark Police Officer and detective, said he’s spoken with the Springfield Police Chief Cook about taking another look into DePalma’s case. According to Weber, Cook was receptive and “wants this case solved also.”
“A set of new eyes and a fresh perspective always helps either confirm or question case information,” he told The Daily Beast.
“I don't think this was the perfect crime. Somewhere, something, some connection is out there waiting to be found and that will be the break in the case.”
Weber said there is still interest among locals to find answers to what happened to DePalma.
“Over the past few years of being a township official, I have had several people ask me about the case,” Weber said. “They always have interest in it or they have a remembrance of the time it happened and some of the stories they heard over the years.”
“I believe any law enforcement officer would have the same desire to be able to have a case, as important as this one, finally solved. That’s why we become cops.”
