NJ Gary, 26, Joan, 26 & Jason Deal,3, throats slashed and shot, 30 Oct 1978

[dotr]

Police seek help to solve 1978 cold-case murder of entire New Jersey family
Nov 1 2018
FOLSOM, N.J. — On the night before Halloween in 1978, a young family was found dead in their southern New Jersey home, their throats slashed. Now, 40 years later, state police are making a fresh appeal for clues in the heartbreaking cold case.


Joan and Gary Deal are pictured with their son Jason. All three were found dead with slashed throats in their Folsom, New Jersey home on Oct. 30, 1978. (New Jersey State Police/ Facebook)

The bodies of Gary Deal, Joan Deal and their 3-year-old son Jason were discovered Monday, Oct. 30, 1978 inside a home on Mays Landing Road in Folsom, according to New Jersey State Police, who posted about the case on Facebook Wednesday.

“Ballistic and DNA evidence that were originally collected from the crime scene have recently been resubmitted for additional testing due to new technological advances,” State Police said.

Gary Deal suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head, and his throat was slashed, police said. His body was discovered on the floor near the front door.

His wife, Joan Deal, was also shot multiple times in the head and had a slashed throat, police said. Her naked body was left on a bedroom floor.

Both parents were 26, according to police.

The throat of 3-year-old Jason was also slashed, police said. He was wearing pajamas and lying in his bed when his body was discovered.

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Nov 3 2018
CRIME HUNTER: A lullaby for the Irish mob
"DETECTIVES TURN UP HEAT ON COLD CASE

Why did they kill the kid?

Jason Deal was only three when fate snatched him from this world.

On Oct. 30, 1978, little Jason was found alongside the bodies of his parents Gary and Joan Deal, both 26, in Folsom, NJ. They had been shot multiple times with their throats slit.

The little boy’s throat had also been cut. He was wearing his pyjamas.

For four decades the grisly slaying has gathered dust as a cold case file. Now, cops say they’ve resubmitted DNA and forensics for new tests that will take advantage of advances in tech.

As for a motive in the sickening slayings, that remains murky. Gary Deal was a solid citizen, his wife an angel who didn’t have any enemies.

One theory is that it was a case of mistaken identity.

“The brutal murder of the Deal family sent shockwaves throughout New Jersey and across the country, with numerous local and federal law enforcement agencies assisting with the case,” cops said in a statement.

“Although numerous suspects were developed, no one was ever charged.”

 

[Marilynilpa]

OMG, this is awful!

I wonder if the child could identify the killer(s) and was killed for that reason.

This sounds like a lot of overkill. A great deal of rage. That makes me think there is a personal motive. JMO.

LE seems to think that the Deals weren’t the type of people who lived a high-risk lifestyle, and opined that this might have been a case of mistaken identity.

I hope something new shows up on this sad case.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Okay, I’m already confused. One article states that Gary was found on the floor near the front door, Joan was found on the floor in a bedroom, and Jason was found dead in his bed. Another article says Jason was found alongside his parents.

Wonder which scenario is right??

 

[Elainera]

Although numerous suspects were developed, no one was ever charged.”

Maybe now one can be linked to this heartbreaking crime via dna.

Somebody thought they got away with it and is now not sleeping well anymore!

 

[Catmommy]

These souls have been without justice for too too long. There is never a valid reason for cutting a baby's throat. That person is already damned and has, hopefully, been living a damned life.

 

[rob525]

Okay, I’m already confused. One article states that Gary was found on the floor near the front door, Joan was found on the floor in a bedroom, and Jason was found dead in his bed. Another article says Jason was found alongside his parents.

Wonder which scenario is right??

I picked up on that as well. I thought possibly Gary went to answer the door and was killed. Joan runs to her sons room and is killed there. Possibly the second article should have read "alongside his mothers body"?

I do agree with the overkill/rage statement. Which leads me to a question. In what scenario does a killer possess that amount of rage but yet is not familiar enough with his victim for it to be a mistaken identity case?

 

[Betty P]

Such terrible, brutal murders. I hope police get some answers. Found some 1978 articles at newspapers.com about the murders. They weren't able to fix a time of death, just sometime between 6 pm Thursday and 9 am Monday, when family broke into their home when no one was able to reach them by phone.

1 Nov 1978, 6 - The Daily Journal at Newspapers.com

At the time, police felt the killer was someone who knew them. No signs of forced entry, nothing was taken from the home. Gary's employer said he was very well liked by everyone, a "happy go lucky" kind of guy. He worked for a fencing company.

1 Nov 1978, Page 4 - Courier-Post at Newspapers.com

Gary was last seen on Thursday evening around 6 pm, when he was dropped off at home by a co-worker. He and his wife were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary that day. His boss didn't think too much of it when he missed work on Friday, assuming they had been celebrating. He had been injured about 15 months earlier in an auto accident and since then had a limp.

1 Nov 1978, Page 3 - Philadelphia Daily News at Newspapers.com

The Deals lived in a modern split level home. Gary was found on the landing at the front door, his wife and son were found in bedrooms upstairs. Several shell casings were found next to Joan's body. Their son was found in his bedroom in his crib. Deal had worked previously as a mechanic and auto body repairman. His parents lived 4 miles away in Hammonton, NJ. LE denied that he was a member of a motorcycle gang.

31 Oct 1978, Page 1 - Courier-Post at Newspapers.com

This article says the murders were estimated to have taken place late Thursday or early Friday morning, since he hadn't been in front of his home when his co-worker came by to pick him up.

 

[rob525]

I just wondered if this may have had something to do with auto accident. I wonder whom was at fault and if any law suits were pending? I believe that in 1978 auto insurance wasn't required / inforced by law as it is today. Perhaps he was involved in suing someone personally for the damages that resulted from the accident or he had caused the accident and someone was seeking revenge?

 

[ladyrider223]

Bumping for the Deal family