An indictment is still months away, said a Burlington County prosecutor.
By DAVID J. RALIS Police forensic tests on evidence in the murder case
of exotic dancer Rachel Siani are complete, but it could be months
before a New Jersey grand jury weighs the charges police filed
against a Buckingham sign painter, a prosecutor said this week.
Meanwhile, her alleged killer, John A.
"Jack" Denofa, 36, is free on $500,000 bail and is
"occupying himself with work and his family," his defense
lawyer, Al Cepparulo of New Hope, said yesterday.
The married sign company owner was a Tuesday night
regular at the now-defunct Divas International Gentleman's Club in
Bristol Township where Siani worked. He often stayed at a room in
the adjoining Econo Lodge, police say. Siani, 21, of Bensalem, was
last seen alive entering Denofa's motel room at 2:40 a.m. on March
29.
On April 1, all-terrain vehicle riders found Siani's
body 200 feet beneath the New Jersey side of a bridge that connects
the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes over the Delaware River.
First Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Raymond
Milavsky said the trial delay is normal for a murder case in New
Jersey, where prosecutors first must obtain a grand jury indictment
against a murder suspect before they can go to trial.
Milavsky said a recently released state police
report needs to be analyzed; it could take months to build the case
against Denofa before it goes to a grand jury.
In Pennsylvania, police must take a case to trial
within 180 days, the lawyers said. New Jersey law has no specific
time limit, and Milavsky said he is involved in trying a murder case
from two years ago.
Cepparulo said he has no problem with the slowness
of the prosecution, adding, "They're being deliberate about it.
It's the right thing to do." He also said the defense has spent
the months "doing a fair amount of investigation."
Denofa's case is being prosecuted in New Jersey
because Siani's body was found in that state.
Denofa and relatives of Siani could not be reached
for comment.
Thursday, February 8, 2001
Courier Times
E-mail
Murder victim Rachel
Elizabeth Siani.
