Four Ocean County Residents Charged in Chilling Double Murder Case
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July 15, 2024Four Ocean County Residents Charged in Chilling Double Murder Case
Four Ocean County Residents Charged in Chilling Double Murder Case
According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, on July 13, 2024, the owner of the Toms River house located on Ravenwood Drive that was the scene of a standoff with a Manchester man on July 5, was slain and dismembered by the wanted person, with the homeowner's body parts being moved to a property in Jackson.
Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated that four additional individuals who were in the house with fugitive Maxwell Johnston on the day of the standoff have been charged with desecration of human remains. They are alleged to have assisted Johnston in dismembering and dumping the remains.
According to authorities, Johnston, 35, committed suicide on July 5 after he had resisted arrest for almost seven hours by firing at them repeatedly. This was in relation to the shooting murder of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, on June 27.
Investigators looking into Ms. Caroleo's death have found evidence that suggests a murder may have taken place at the Ravenwood Drive home on or around July 3, 2024.
In order to do this, law enforcement received information suggesting that a Jackson Township property may have evidence of that murder. On July 12, 2024, a court-authorized search warrant was executed on the subject property located on Toms River Road in Jackson Township by detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Major Crime Unit, Manchester Township Police Department Detective Bureau, New Jersey State Police K-9 Unit New, Jersey State Police Forensic Science Unit, and Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Consequently, investigators found multiple body parts in black bags along with additional evidence connected to the murder.Elizabeth Mascarelli, 29, is being held in the Ocean County Jail on suspicion of harboring a fugitive after letting Johnston stay with her in the Ravenwood Drive home for four days despite being aware of his alleged involvement in Caroleo's death, according to Billhimer.
Mascarelli was in the house with Johnston during the standoff and left only after Johnston shot himself.She is now charged with aiding Johnston in dismembering and disposing of the remains of the homeowner, Kerry Rollason, 56, of Toms River, along with three others in the house: Jarred Palumbo, 36, of Manchester; Danielle Bolstad, 42, of Barnegat; and Jared Krysiak, 34, of Brick Township, Billhimer said.
"The crimes committed against Mr. Rollason are unsettling and disturbing. I am thankful for the law enforcement professionals that worked diligently to uncover these depraved and soulless crimes," Billhimer said.
Billhimer stated that evidence suggesting a murder may have been perpetrated at the Ravenwood Drive residence on or around July 3 was discovered by officials while they were looking into Caroleo's death. Following that, authorities learned that there might be evidence of the murder at a Jackson property. On July 12, they carried out a search warrant at a Jackson property on Toms River Road, where they discovered "numerous body parts in black bags along with additional evidence connected to the murder," says Billhimer.
Maxwell Johnson, Manchester
According to Billhimer, the Ocean County Medical Examiner identified the body pieces as belonging to Rollason and concluded that he had been beaten and shot several times.
Tthe inquiry showed that Johnston had shot Rollason dead at the Ravenwood Drive residence, using a gun that Mascarelli owned."Additionally, Mascarelli, Bolstad, and Krysiak assisted Johnston with dismembering Mr. Rollason’s body, and Mascarelli, Bolstad, Krysiak, and Palumbo assisted Johnston in disposing of the body in Jackson Township," Billhimer said.
On July 13, 2024, Palumbo was taken into custody without incident. He was processed and served with the charges via summons pending an upcoming first appearance in Ocean County Superior Court. On July 14, 2024, Bolstad was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where she is presently lodged pending a detention hearing. On July 15, 2024, Elizabeth Mascarelli was served with the charges referenced above on a complaint at the Ocean County Jail. Jared Krysiak has not yet been taken into custody, and is considered a fugitive from justice. As such, a warrant for his arrest has been issued and his name has been entered in the National Crime Information Center database.The charges referenced above are merely accusations and the press and public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. R.P.C. 3.6(b)(6).
