Jerome Dennis (serial killer)

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Jerome Dennis
Born (1966-12-14) December 14, 1966 (age 55)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
December 16, 1991–April 11, 1992
CountryUnited States
State(s)New Jersey
Date apprehended
April 12, 1992

Jerome Dennis (born December 14, 1966) is an American serial killer. While on parole for a prior rape conviction, he murdered five women between December 1991 and April 1992 in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey.[1] After his arrest, he pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to life imprisonment in 1993.[2]

Biography[]

Dennis was born on December 14, 1966, the seventh in a family of nine children, and raised in the Columbus Homes in Newark.[3] Raised primarily by his mother, Dennis grew up in the grasps of law enforcement, starting at age 11, but was never charged with any crime because of his young age. He dropped out of school in the seventh grade, afterwards he began escalating his crimes from minor theft to rape. On November 6, 1981, Jerome, 14, along with his brother William, committed a rape in downtown Newark. After the attack both brothers traveled to Military Park and stopped at a payphone to report the attack, along with giving up their identity and were subsequently arrested by authorities, by which time the phone call had lasted almost an hour.[3]

After their initial arrest, Jerome and William confessed to having committed another two rapes the month before in October. The boys were charged as adults and stood trial together, in which their father testified on part of the prosecution. Jerome, then 14, was convicted in December 1981 for rape, false imprisonment and armed robbery, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with the minimum release possibility being after 10 years.[4] While in prison, he took up baking, and was hired at Pleasantdale Bakery in West Orange, New Jersey as a porter.

Murders[]

In early October 1991, Jerome, who had served 10 years of his 30-year prison sentence, was granted early release, and on November 19, he was paroled.[5] Soon after he moved into a home in East Orange. Within two months of his release, on December 12, Dennis attacked 26-year-old Zelda Bailey, but she was not seriously injured and survived.[6] Two days later, Dennis attacked another woman, 41-year-old Robyn Carter, this time the victim did not get away. Carter's body was discovered on December 16 in Newark, raped and strangled. Two months later on February 22, 23-year-old Khydijah Harris was attacked by Dennis, who was armed with a knife. Harris survived.[6]

Between the days of April 9 and April 10, 1992, the bodies of three women; 16-year-old Jamillah Jones, 30-year-old Elizabeth Clenor, and 30-year-old Stephanie Alston, were found within blocks from one another, but were proven to have been killed days apart. A popular theory was that the perpetrator was an unidentified serial killer, that up to that point was active between August 1991 and April 1992. During which time the bodies of seven women, including one which couldn't be identified, were found in rural areas around New Jersey city's of Newark and East Orange, and two other women reported to have been assaulted at knife point by a man in the areas.[7]

Investigation and arrest[]

In April 1992, with a moral panic growing among the citizens of both cities, the East Orange Police Department formed a task force with input from surrounding law enforcement agencies to investigate the cases, in which Jerome became a suspect in the murders. After some time, Jerome's blood, hair and saliva samples were sent in for examination by investigators involved in the taskforce.[3] Next, detectives put up a photo line-up and showed it to the two surviving victims, both identified Jerome with little question. He was arrested on April 12, two days after the bodies of the three women were found, holding him at $2 million bail.[1] Not long after the arrest, Newark officials held a public meeting, in which over 250 people showed to ask questions. While the arrest was a relief to investigators, the public were skeptical of Dennis' arrest.[6] However, Dennis had made a full confession to all the murders.[8]

Conviction[]

On February 27, 1993, Dennis pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and two counts of assault, receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 60 years.[2] Dennis will become eligible for parole on April 10, 2052, when he is 85 years old.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Man charged in five killings". United Press International. 13 April 1992. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Guilty Plea to Killing 5 New Jersey Women". The New York Times. 28 February 1993. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "A Model Inmate, and Now a Suspect Again; New Jersey Officials Say Parolee Accused in 5 Slayings Showed No Signs of Trouble". The New York Times. 15 April 1992. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. ^ "PAROLEE CHARGED IN DEATHS 4 RAPES, 5 MURDERS BEGAN AFTER RELEASE". Sun-Sentinel. 14 April 1992. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Paroled Rapist Charged With Killing 5 Women in New Jersey". The New York Times. 14 April 1992. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Is Terror Over?". Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Killings of 5 in East Orange Being Investigated for Links". The New York Times. 12 April 1992. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Paroled Rapist Held". The Record. 14 April 1992. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Offender Details". New Jersey Department of Corrections. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

External links[]

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