The Death of Jeannette DePalma

The Disappearance

Jeannette DePalma disappeared on August 7th, 1972, four days after her 16th birthday. She had left her home in Springfield Township, New Jersey,. she told her mother she was going to a friend's house by train. It is now theorized that she instead hitchhiked.

She never arrived at her friend's house and she never returned home that evening. Her parents reported her missing the following day to the police department.

Following her disappearance, a human arm was found outside an apartment colplex on Wilson Rd. And according to police accounts in newspapers, the arm was carried from to the apartments from the Houdaille Quarry, which was once a crystal and gravel quarry that is now divided by Interstate 78 and is sat between the famous Baltrusol Golf Club and Watchung Reservation.

A search soon began in the area and investigators soon found Jeannette lying atop a rock formation on September 19th, 1972.

Jeannette was very committed to her faith and she came from a Christian family who lived on Clearview Road in the upper-class community of Springfield. This was a beautiful area and you could see the Manhattan skyline from the streets of the neighborhood.

Over the years there have been no arrests or leads for the case. Her death is classified as suspicious, there is no definitive cause of death for her case.

The Placement of Her Body

The death of Jeannette occurred during the Jesus Movement in the 70s, this was a time when communes and free love were waning and families were turning back to their evangelical roots. While these families were turning to faith, it was also a time of Satanic panic, when there was rumors about witchcraft and Satanism in the news.

Her body was found on a cliff that was known to locals as the "Devil's Teeth," and soon rumors of occult practices were being reported statewide. There were theories about a coven of witches practicing black magic and satanic ritual sacrifices that were being whispered among the community.

Jeannette was found laying face down on top of the rock formation, according to the Union County medical examiner's report.

The girl was identified through dental records, her body was very decomposed and an autopsy could not be performed. X-rays ruled out any blunt force trauma, bullet holes, and fractures. Her cause of death was never determined.

In the 1973 crime lab report, it reflected on Jeannette's clothing, including pants, underwear, and shirt. They were tested as well as the soil and compared with hairs collected at the scene. There were no foreign hairs found and stains on her underwear and other clothing were far too degraded for blood and semen testing. DNA was no available then, but her clothing has still been preserved all these years.

Those who found Jeannette said that she was located inside a coffin made out of wood and she was surrounded by makeshift crosses that were made from branches.

Theories

Jeannette was described as someone who tried to lead others to Jesus by her parents and she was involved in community programs to help drug addicts. They also said that she was planning on going to a Bible college.

A number of sacrifices involving dead animals were reported in the Watchung Reservation, according to a report by the Daily Journal. The Watchung Reservation is less than two miles away from where Jeannette's body was found. And around the same time, Union County Park Police also found burning candles, a bowl of blood, feathers, and pigeons with their necks snapped.

The Courier News in 1972 reported that Union County investigators may have brought a witch to the site where Jeannette was found to help assess its legitimacy.

"I never did hear if the witch found anything," Rev. James Tate said, the family's pastor, "But i know she was there at the scene." The name of the witch was never released publicly.

According to more news accounts from that time, there were people who identified as witches and warlocks in the area. In an article that was released on October 31st, 1972, Lilith Sinclair led a group of 30 Satanists who indicated that they were a branch of the Church of Satan that was founded by Anton S. Lavey.

Donald Schwedt, Springfield police officer who discovered Jeannette's body, says that the case still lingers in his mind.

"It was hard," He was quoted by Central Jersey News, "I had five daughters, and this could have been one of my daughters, you know?"

Her body was found on a big mound in the quarry.

"When I got up there, the body was lying right there," Donald said, "She had tan pants and a navy blue shirt."

Donald doesn't get involved with the theories that involve witchcraft and Stanism. He told the newspaper that he believes that these sort of rumors started after other investigators were called onto the scene and started to climb the rock fact. One of the investigators noticed a rock or other stones around Jeannette's head and made a comment that it looked like something from Satanism.

"There's a lot of people speculating this and that... I don't buy it."

Donald believes that it was possible they were doing drugs and she overdosed, even though the toxicology report was negative for drugs.

"Somebody had to be with her because she had flip-flops," Donald continued, "And I had hiking boots on and I had trouble getting up that little hill up to where she was laying."

Donald also said that investigators knew that some of Jeannette's friends were drug addicts. Donald believed that after all the time that had passed, maybe someone would have a heart to step forward by now, but nobody has.

"Death on Devil's Teeth"

Jesse P. Pollack and Mark Moran, co-authors of Death on Devil's Teeth: The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey, provide an account of the case and rumors of a police cover-up, suspected witchcraft, and potential ties to other murders of young women.

When the pair started to investigate the case, the local police claimed that all the files and evidence had been lost during flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. And after they filed a Freedom of Information Act Request, they soon discovered that this was not true.

In 2021, the authors obtained Jeannette's case file, along with crime scene photographs.

After they carefully reviewed the crime scene, they felt confident that no occult activity occurred causing Jeannette's death.

The alleged crosses made from sticks and the "halo of stones" were absent from the crime scene photos. Nothing was carved in nearby trees and there was no altar either.

This contradicts early reports from the Elizabeth Daily Journal that was titled "Girl Sacrificed in Witch Rite?"

"Investigation into the death of a 16-year-old Jeannette DePalma is focusing on elements of black witchcraft and Satan worship. A review of death scene photos, according to reports, is leading authorities to believe that the girl's death may have been in nature of a sacrifice. Pieces of wood, at first thought to be at the scene by chance, are now seen as symbols. One searcher said two pieces of wood were crossed on the ground over her head. More wood framed the body like a coffin. Another person who was there said, 'I guess if you were looking for signs, they were there.'"

The Springfield Police Department told the authors that the location where Jeannette was found was a popular party scene.

A theory is that Jeannette had overdosed and the other partiers fled the scene so they would not get in any trouble.

However, Pollack and Moran disagree.

The area where her remains were found was largely overgrown and no evidence of a party was found in the evidence reports and photographs.

Contents of Jeanette's purse were found near her body, but her purse was never found. Eight feet away from her body was a Vicks inhaler, a pack of Marcal tissues, lipstick, a compact, a comb, a key on a ring, a clear vial with an unknown substance, and a small eyeshadow palette.

Her cross necklace was missing, which had been reported by her family as missing in 1972.

Possible Serial Killer?

Some speculate that Jeannette was the victim of a serial killer.

In the 1970s, Richard Cottingham was preying on young girls and women. Richard was a family man, he lived in a middle-class neighborhood in New Jersey. He also worked as a computer operator for Blue Cross Blue Shield of New York and was eventually known as the "Torso Killer."

Richard claims that he murdered between 85 and 100 women before he was arrested. After he tortured, raped, and brutally killed his victims, he would dump many of the bodies in wooded areas.

In 2021, the killer wrote a series of letters to Pollack and said that he may have abducted and killed Jeannette while she hitchhiked. Pollack turned the letters over to the Union County Prosecutor's Office. The correspondence has also been printed and revised. As of 2023, law enforcement has not provided any updates on the case.