'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC 'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC
'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC A convicted killer facing new charges in connection with his second wife's death in Mercer County will be featured in a two-hour broadcast titled "Chameleon" on Dateline NBC on Friday, April 26. John David Smith III has served 20 years in an Ohio prison for the murder of his first wife. Now, he faces murder charges in New Jersey for killing his second wife, Fran Gladden-Smith, 33 years ago in West Windsor. At 9 p.m. Friday, Dateline NBC said it will reveal a "gripping investigation exposing (the) man suspected of multiple murders." Victims' relatives and detectives who put Smith behin…
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…
Motorcyclist Killed In Plainfield After Crashing Into Parked Car: Authorities Motorcyclist Killed In Plainfield After Crashing Into Parked Car: Authorities
Motorcyclist Killed In Plainfield After Crashing Into Parked Car: Authorities A motorcyclist was killed in Plainfield early Sunday, April 21 after his motorcycle crashed into a parked car, authorities said. At 5 a.m. Plainfield police responded to the 700 block of East 3rd St. on a report of a crash, Andrea Wright, a spokeswoman for the city said.  Upon arrival, police located a man who crashed his motorcycle into a parked car, Wright said. EMS responded and the man was pronounced dead at the scene, Wright said. The crash remains under investigation, Wright said. The man's name, age and residence has not been released.
Newark Man Stole Thousands From Customers As Wawa Gas Attendant: Prosecutors Newark Man Stole Thousands From Customers As Wawa Gas Attendant: Prosecutors
Newark Man Stole Thousands From Customers As Wawa Gas Attendant: Prosecutors A former Monmouth County gas station attendant was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from customers, authorities said. Patrick Brown, 48, of Newark, was indicted by a grand jury on 52 counts, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced in a news release on Wednesday, Apr. 24. He was charged with 13 counts each of third-degree credit card fraud, third-degree false uttering, third-degree theft, and fourth-degree credit card theft. Freehold Township police said the thefts at the Wawa on Route 9 North happened "during a limited amount of time" in August 2023. Bro…
Violent Mahwah Crash Sends Rockland Bicyclist To Hospital (UPDATE) Violent Mahwah Crash Sends Rockland Bicyclist To Hospital (UPDATE)
Violent Mahwah Crash Sends Rockland Bicyclist To Hospital (Update) A Rockland County bicyclist was hospitalized after an SUV struck him on a Mahwah road a mile or so from the state line. The 40-something victim was "lucid and responsive at the scene" following the crash on Island Road at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, Mahwah Police Chief Timothy O'Hara said. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with multiple injuries, the chief said. The Honda HR-V struck him off a curved stretch of Island Road, just off Airmount Road, where there are no bike lanes.  The 30-something female driver from Bergen County remained at the scene and cooperated…
Congressman Donald Payne, Newark Native Dead At 65 Congressman Donald Payne, Newark Native Dead At 65
Congressman Donald Payne, Newark Native Dead At 65 Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) died on Wednesday, April 24 at the age of 65, weeks after suffering a cardiac episode. Payne, a Newark native, had served in Congress, representing New Jersey's 10th district since 2012, when he won a special election to fill the seat left vacant when his father, Donald Payne, Sr. died.  A graduate of Kean University, he previously served on the Essex County Board of Freeholders and the Newark Municipal Council and was known for his signature bowtie.  Earlier this month, Payne's office said he suffered a cardiac episode based on complications from di…
WATCH THIS: Enraged Driver From NJ Mounts Mid-Manhattan Sidewalk Aiming For Pedestrian WATCH THIS: Enraged Driver From NJ Mounts Mid-Manhattan Sidewalk Aiming For Pedestrian
Watch This: Enraged Driver From NJ Mounts Mid-Manhattan Sidewalk Aiming For Pedestrian An enraged New Jersey driver was recorded trying to run down a shirtless man in broad daylight on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk. The wild road rage pursuit continued up West 39th Street near Seventh Avenue before the driver left his Ford Taurus with three wheels on the sidewalk and confronted his target, footage shared by What Is New York on Instagram shows. "Call the cops! Calls the cops!" the man shouts. The pedestrian -- whose pants are down around his thighs, exposing red boxer shorts -- responds, then tries to duck into a building. A man at the door shoves him back onto the street. T…
Pig Kidney Gives Terminally-Ill New Jersey Woman New Lease On Life Pig Kidney Gives Terminally-Ill New Jersey Woman New Lease On Life
Pig Kidney Gives Terminally-Ill New Jersey Woman New Lease On Life Renewed hope comes in the form of a pig's kidney and mechanical heart for a New Jersey woman. Lisa Pisano, 54, who had been suffering from both heart and end-stage kidney disease, became the first-ever patient to undergo the combination transplant surgery, according to NYU Langone Health, whose doctors performed the procedures. Pisano was getting sicker and sicker, and her life expectancy was getting shorter and shorter, according to Dr. Robert Montgomery, who chairs the LYU Langone Health surgery department. Life's simplest tasks like walking around the house, cooking, or cleaning, l…
Whole Foods Worker Goes Missing After Shift At North Jersey Store: Police Whole Foods Worker Goes Missing After Shift At North Jersey Store: Police
Whole Foods Worker Goes Missing After Shift At North Jersey Store: Police A 60-year-old Orange man has been missing since he worked a shift at Whole Foods Market on Sunday, April 21. Rousier Romain did not return home after he left his shift abruptly at the Whole Foods in Vauxhall, Township of Union police said. Romaine left Whole Foods at 3:40 p.m. and was last seen on foot in the parking lot near the fence along the edge of Route 78, adjacent to the property, police said. Romain’s vehicle was found parked in the lot and his cell phone is currently turned off, police said. Romain suffers from several medical conditions which require medication, police said..&nbs…
Threatening Bathroom Graffiti Temporarily Closes Private NJ School As Police Investigate Threatening Bathroom Graffiti Temporarily Closes Private NJ School As Police Investigate
Threatening Bathroom Graffiti Temporarily Closes Private NJ School As Police Investigate 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Police were reviewing security video to determine who's responsible for a threat specifically mentioning Blacks and Hispanics that was found scrawled on a bathroom wall at Dwight-Englewood School. The K-12 school was closed on Wednesday, April 24, following the discovery earlier in the week of a message that investigators said threatens to "get even." The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office was alerted and police in Englewood are working the case, assisted by the county sheriff's forensics team, which collected evidence. "There's concern right now considering what just recently trans…
WINNER! Hudson County Lottery Player Wins Big $$ WINNER! Hudson County Lottery Player Wins Big $$
Winner! Hudson County Lottery Player Wins Big $$ A Mega Millions player in Hudson County had a terrific Tuesday. A Mega Millions ticket sold in Guttenberg matched four numbers and the gold Megaball in the drawing held on Tuesday, April 23, winning $40,000. The ticket was sold at Stop N Save on Bergenline Avenue. The winning numbers were 11, 17, 33, 39, 43 and the gold Megaball was 14.
Venezuelan Immigrant Builds Dream Life Photographing Dream Homes In Essex County Venezuelan Immigrant Builds Dream Life Photographing Dream Homes In Essex County
Venezuelan Immigrant Builds Dream Life Photographing Dream Homes In Essex County Finding a better life in the U.S. was not a guarantee for Edwing Hernandez when he immigrated with his wife from Venezuela in 2012. But it was a possibility. He had $3,000 in his pocket, and a simple dream. "For me at that moment, [my dream] was to be in a safe country with freedom of speech and be able to live and have my basic needs covered," said Hernandez, 34, of Union City. For years, Hernandez worked physically-demanding jobs and long hours, sometimes 14 a day, commuting two hours to and from work, for only $8 an hour. Life would get a whole lot harder before it would get easier fo…