🌑 From Whimsical Jersey Devil to Deadly Satan Killings of South Jersey - History of Evil!

The 50s seem to bring out the evil in from the dark arts. Here are several victim stories of my youth.

Honestly, how many States have their own State Demon? New Jersey does. In 1938 The Jersey Devil was designated the country’s only state demon. How about that?

I live in the heart of the Pinelands, which is home to scores of miles of pine trees, sandy roads and undeveloped, protected State Parks, and deep fresh-water aquifers. We grew up playing in the woods. I mentioned an experience while partying in the pines in my last blog, and also depicted a mysterious experience which might have been the Jersey Devil (not really).

The Devil is described as a kangaroo-like creature with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, bat-like wings, horns and a tail. It has a 250 year history of prowling the marshes of Southern New Jersey and, every once in a while, emerges to rampage through the towns and cities and scare the bejeebers out of everyone.

The origins of the legend is that a Mrs. Leeds, a resident of Esteville, NJ, was distraught when she learned she was expecting her 13th child. In disgust, she cried out, “Let it be the devil!”  and sure enough, when the child arrived, it was indeed was a baby devil, which then gave a wild screech, unfolded its wings and flew out the window into the Jersey swamp where it lives to this day.

Of course, this is a whimsical take on the Legend of the Jersey Devil. Good for a chuckle, but South Jersey and the pine barrens have a sinister legacy of devil worship, Satanists and the darker side.

I witnessed a few satanic murders in my day living here in our little South Jersey paradise. I was not present at the actual events, but they happened to local people I knew. Many of you fellow readers were there also.

Sand Wash Drowning Murder

I was teaching at Vineland High School, in Vineland, NJ in 1971 when Patrick Michael (Mike) Newell, a 20‐ year‐old Vineland glass‐factory worker, was found drowned in a sand‐pit pond in nearby Millville. His hands and feet had been bound with adhesive tape. Apparently, the victim was well known for his dabbling in witchcraft and spell incantations.

A student in one of my classes, Wayne and his friend Richard, both friends of the young man were arrested and charged with murder. Their lawyer, local attorney, Phil Lipman called it “a suicide with assistance.”

He came up with the defense based on the fact that Newell belonged to a “Satan worshippers sect," and felt he had to die violently in order to be put in charge of “40 leagues of demons.” He urged the two friends to bind him, which they did, performed a “Satanic ritual” and then had them push him into the pond.

This is the result of extreme Manichean thinking. To be Manichean is to follow the philosophy of Manichaeism, which is an old religion that breaks everything down into good or evil. It also means “duality,” so if your thinking is Manichean, you see things in black and white.

There is a strong streak of radical Pentecostal Manichean religion in the areas with people tending to extreme religious beliefs. Pentecostal work up a fever pitch and speak in tongues. Satanism is the flip side. They worship the devil like the Christians worship Jesus, except with dark, midnight frantic ceremonies. We’ve all heard tales of naked, orgiastic rituals.

At the time, Rev. Harry Snook, pastor of the Chestnut Assembly of God, who worked with local, troubled, youngsters who took to his fervent Pentecostal style of “old‐time religion,” estimated that 60 to 70 people of high school and college age youth in the area were involved as spectators or participants in Satanic worship rites.

Some independent investigators here claim to have found the site of some previous Satanic rites near the high school and to have dug up animal bones used in the ceremonies.  There is no doubt there is a strong streak of serious, mental radicalism when it comes to religion in South Jersey. This ain’t the Jersey Devil.

Personally, I adhere to Shakespeare’s take on the occult.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,/Than are dreamt of in your philosophy” (Hamlet, 1.5. 165–66).

So not really knowing about the nature of otherworldly existence, I don’t mess with it. Very bad juju.

The Carletto Voodoo Murder

I was eleven-years-old in 1956, when there was another local, Satanic murder of a boy who used to occasionally stop in at my grandfather’s farm to play with us, Roger Carletto. My grandfather had a canning factory in Landisville, and trucks loaded with tomatoes would wind up dropping many on them on the ground. Which of course, we used for tomato fights.

Roger disappeared one day for many months before his body was found.

There was a nine-month investigation into his disappearance. which resulted in a lot of dead ends. The case finally broke when a charge of murder was lodged against Idek Rosenblum, an owner of a poultry farm on Mill Rd. in Vineland. The murder had apparently occurred the previous October. The charge was made on the accusation of Juan Rivera Aponte, a hired man on the Rosenblum farm.

Ultimately,  Aponte confessed to the slaying. Aponte, a native of Puerto Rico, migrated to New Jersey in August 1953 and obtained work as a laborer at the Rosenblum farm. Early in 1956, to improve himself, he wrote for an English-Spanish dictionary. In response, he received advertisements of books on black magic. He purchased them, and thus began a bizarre and macabre story.

He learned that if he prepared a magic circle he could summon the devil who would fulfill his wish. What he wanted was a woman who would be his alone. It is the Faustian theme. The vital ingredients of the magic circle, described by the author as "all these horrible and difficult to get objects," included "the cranium of a murderer." Aponte apparently understood that the skull of one who met a violent death would satisfy the text. - For a full briefing of the trial go to Justia US Law (Worth the read. All the dirty details.)

I read the case cited in the link above. He pleaded insanity, but was deemed sane and tried. I couldn’t find out what the sentence was. I need a lawyer’s interpretation..anyone?

The Ingenito Murders

These are just two witchcraft associated murders. We also had some straight up homicides locally that received national press coverage, like the Ingenito Murders, According to police accounts, Ernest Ingenito went to the Franklin Township home of his in-laws the night of Nov. 17, 1950 to request a visit with his two young sons who were living with his in-laws, Michael and Pearl Mazzoli, and his estranged wife, Theresa.

Denied visitation, Ingenito reportedly began shooting with two handguns and a rifle he brought with him. Before the shooting spree ended, five were dead: Both in-laws, plus Theresa's grandmother and her uncle and aunt, Frank and Hilda Mazzoli, who were shot later in Minotola, where they lived.

Among the four wounded were Theresa, who was able to call police, and Theresa's 9-year-old cousin. He spared the lives of his children.

Local author, Patricia Martinelli, wrote a book about the Ingenito Murders Rain of Bullets, and goes into great detail on the events and people. This happened in Piney Hollow about four miles from my house. We knew these people. Quite shocking.

Dr Sugar Murder.

And of course there was the Dr. Sugar Murder. Big time news.

Dr Sugar was national news.

A physician was convicted of killing his wife and burying her under a picnic table at their Vineland, N.J., home was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in state prison. Dr. Sugar, 57 years old, was convicted of murdering his second wife, Joan, 40, following a five-hour quarrel at their home on July 9, 1979. The physician testified during the trial that he lost consciousness as his wife attacked him with a hammer. Details are here!

Even more bizarre, his conviction was overturned when it was discovered the police had been secretly listening in to his conversations with his lawyer.

Is it the area, or does this happen everywhere? Very dark times then.

Feel free to comment.