Murdered
man still
a mystery
MARLBORO — Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office investigators are continuing to search for answers in the case of a man found murdered and sealed inside a 55-gallon steel drum.
As of press time the age, race and identity of the man had not been determined. It was also unclear how long ago he died.
A Marlboro police report shows that an initial call was placed from the home of Stanislaw Kocur, of Spring Valley Road, at about 7:26 p.m. April 19 reporting the drum being found on his property. The drum, which Kocur told authorities was left in a ravine beside his driveway by an unknown party, was moved to the curb for public works employees to remove.
Kocur, contacted by telephone, declined to comment for this story.
The drum remained curbside until April 29 when public works employees arrived to pick it up. Seeing the drum welded shut, they called the Monmouth County Health Department, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Robert A. Honecker Jr.
Health department workers then removed a filler cap and inserted a probe to determine the contents of the drum, which was found to be a solid. The lid was removed by authorities to reveal a fully clothed, decomposed male corpse. The contents of his pockets were two $1 bills. He was carrying no identification, Hon-ecker said.
The body was taken to CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, for an autopsy by Monmouth County Medical Examiner Dr. Jay Peacock. The autopsy results concluded the man was murdered. Multiple stab wounds were observed in his upper torso, with the fatal blow believed to have been to the heart, Honecker said.
In hopes of identifying the victim, authorities called on forensic dental examiner Dr. Paul Kovalski Jr., who is the president of the Marlboro Township Council. The corpse’s dental records are now being compared with reported missing persons, Kovalski said.
The Kocur property is on a wooded area of Spring Valley Road. The location is also near Burnt Fly Bog, a site on the Superfund list of the nation’s most polluted areas. The length of time it took to pick up the drum, given its proximity to such a pollutant-plagued site, disturbed Kovalski.
"All I know is if there’s a 55-gallon drum found on the side of the road, it’s ASAP," he said. "We’re living in a different age and time, with things like hazardous chemicals and bioterrorism. It’s a potentially dangerous situation."
The pickup of the drum was complicated by April’s ongoing spring cleanup period, according to Marlboro Office of Public Information Director Stephanie Luftglass. During this month-long period, large bulk items such as couches, appliances and lumber are picked up from curbs. The township accepts steel drums, but they must have one end removed to assure there are no chemicals or hazardous materials present.
Mayor Matthew Scannapieco held a conference call on April 30 with municipal and public works officials to address the situation and procedures in handling similar calls, Luftglass said.
— Karl Vilacoba