Two Murders. No Answers.
Li
friend Jeff Eresman and his manager, Erik Rewoldt went to work at the
FuncoLand video game store in Roxbury, NJ. Within half an hour of them
opening on that Sunday morning they were found shot to death in the
head, and three men were seen leaving the store. Since then there have
been no arrests.. nothing at all. Nothing in the Daily Record or any
other paper. Jeff was 2 days shy of his 22nd birthday, and left behind
family, friends and a girlfriend that loved him. Erik was 26 and left
behind his wife, and their 2 year old daughter. Weeks later his wife
found out she was pregnant again (5wks) with their second child.. she
is due in August. I just want to say how incredibly hard it is still.
almost three months later. And if anyone has any information... I know
chances are slim but it might help.. to contact their police
department or the number at the bottom of this. here is the article.
or simply here is a link.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/news/02/12/02/news1-killings.htm
2 workers found slain at Roxbury mall store
By Matt Manochio, Daily Record
ROXBURY - Police are searching for three African-American men who were
spotted Sunday leaving the area of a Roxbury Mall video game store
where two employees were found shot to death, authorities said.
Roxbury police were called to the FuncoLand store at 11:36 a.m. by a
patron who dialed 911 after finding one of the clerks' bodies on the
floor in front of the sales counter, Morris County Prosecutor Michael
Rubbinaccio said during a press conference Sunday evening.
Police found a second victim in a rear storage room. Both died of
gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The victims were identified as Jeff Eresman, 22, of Lake Hopatcong,
who worked as a manager, and Eric Rewoldt, 26, an assistant manager
from Netcong, said Lt. Jeffrey S. Paul, spokesman for the Morris
County Prosecutor's office.
Witnesses reported seeing a dark-colored, four-door compact vehicle
heading eastbound on Route 10 shortly after the incident, according to
Joseph Devine, chief of investigations for the prosecutor's office.
The driver was described as a 5-foot, 6-inch black man with a stocky
build weighing between 200 to 225 pounds, wearing dark jeans, a yellow
T-shirt and a black sweatshirt with a hood, Devine said. The vehicle
contained two passengers, one of whom was described as a 5-foot,
11-inch black male with a medium build, close-cropped hair, wearing
dark black jeans and a black shirt. The second passenger was described
as a 5-foot, 11-inch black male, also with a medium build, wearing a
long-sleeved, black T-shirt and dark-colored running pants with two
white stripes running down the side.
Two of the men were described as being between 16 to 18 years old, and
the third suspect was described to be in his 30s.
Police, citing the investigation, declined to reveal what leads they
were following or whether robbery was a motive, but said that people
had stepped forward to volunteer information that could help
investigators.
Rubbinaccio stressed that the double homicide was an "isolated
incident."
"Roxbury Township's a quiet town," he said.
"We have an excellent reputation. This is something that doesn't
happen in Morris County, not just Roxbury," said Mayor Jim Rilee, who
joined Rubbinaccio at a news briefing in a mall parking lot, along
with Morris County Sheriff Edward V. Rochford, Roxbury Police Chief
Mark Noll and Devine.
Police from various agencies meticulously worked the scene both inside
and out.
Nearly 100 parking spaces were taped off while police checked the lot
for evidence.
Acquaintances of the victims gathered next to a police barricade near
the store to lend support to one another. Some uncontrollably sobbed
and hugged each other, while others nervously smoked cigarettes.
The small retail store that sells video-gaming equipment is nestled
between the larger Marty's Shoe Outlet and Mr. Optics. It's a few
doors down from the popular Luigi's restaurant and the Nobody Beats
the Wiz electronics store.
The mall was busy during the frigid Sunday afternoon on the first
holiday shopping weekend before Christmas. Not many customers knew of
the murders as they drove by the crime scene.
Marla Grusin of Randolph, arrived at the FuncoLand parking lot with
her son David Paz, 11, at 1:45pm. She stopped when she saw the yellow
tape blocking entry to the parking lot in front of the store.
Upon hearing of the homicide, Grusen said, "Oh my God," and stared at
the store in disbelief.
"He's been asking me all day if we could come here," she said.
"Yesterday was Hanukkah and he's been saving his money and getting
store credit because he wanted to buy a Game Cube."
"I'm so glad we weren't in there," she after hearing of the double
homicide.
FuncoLand is owned by the Texas-based GameStop Corp., which also owns
a similar chain of stores called Babbage's, one of which is located in
the Rockaway Townsquare mall. Babbage's employees had no comment on
the murders and referred all questions to the corporate offices.
Chief Noll and Mayor Rilee both said that murders have happened very
infrequently during their time living and working in Roxbury.
Walter Burd, 57, a janitor at Circle Lanes, was found stabbed to death
in 1980 after finishing up a shift at the bowling alley on Route 46.
Approximately $6,000 was taken from the alley's safe and the murder
remains unsolved.
In 1989, then-31-year-old Succasunna man Robert V. Miller was charged
with murdering Mount Arlington resident Deborah J. Appleton by running
her down in the ShopRite parking lot along Route 10 and then stabbing
her to death.
Joseph Edward Simon III was charged in 1992 with killing a party guest
named Richard T. Van Ness Jr., 21, of Landing, at Simon's Succasunna
home with a high-powered rifle.
Hackettstown resident Frank R. Zollo was charged in 1994 with
murdering his live-in girlfriend in Hackettstown, stuffing her in the
trunk of a car and letting a car-crusher in Roxbury mangle her body to
dispose of the evidence.
Kenneth Kipke was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 1997 for the
murder of his live in girlfriend during an argument in their Roxbury
home.