Wendy Wolin

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1:23Standard murder. Something bigger. And a public mass. Trying to get someone back to prison today? You go to prison one time and suddenly it's all the jokes. R.J. Decker. Series premiere. Tuesdays on ABC and stream on Hulu. Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder. This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised.

2:05My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.

2:13Today I'm discussing the case of Wendy Sue Wallen. I know it's often seen as a trope in these true crime cases to say that a community was changed forever after a violent crime. that innocence was lost, parents no longer felt like it was safe for their children to play outside, and everyone began locking their doors. But that really is the truth for the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, in March of 1966. Former first assistant prosecutor of Union County, Michael LaPolla, who was 10 years old at the time, later told Mia Centric for the Daily Beast, in part, Before that, nothing bad ever happened. Like the worst thing you heard that happened was somebody's bicycle got stolen.

2:54So, at the time, an entire city of 120 ,000 people freaked out. End quote. He's also described what happened as the day the music died. Elizabeth Mayer, J. Christian Bollwage, who was 11 in 1966, echoes this sentiment and has described what happened to Wendy Wollen as the, quote, cataclysmic event of our lifetime. At school, there were prayers said. We prayed for this young girl, but it's what happened days and days and weeks and months and years after that. Innocence was suspended. It was always a quiet community. Who would ever suspect that something like this would happen in Elizabeth at that time?

3:32End quote. But former Mayor Todd Dunn, who served for 28 years, put it more bluntly, saying, quote, it scared the hell out of the city. end quote. This is the case of Wendy Sue Wolin. In 1966, the Westminster residential area of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was densely populated with middle-to-upper-class working families, many of which had at least one member who would make the about 40-minute commute into New York City five days a week for work. It was greatly built up in the late 1800s and early 1900s with large Victorian-style homes that had since been converted into multifamily apartments. There were also a few very modern apartment complexes to serve the dense population of commuters.

4:19And this is where 7-year-old Wendy Wollen lived with her family in the Pierce Manor Apartments at 400 Irvington Avenue, right off the Elizabeth River. A two-bedroom apartment in 1966 was listed for$139 a month. Adjusted for inflation, that's about$1 ,400 today. So it was affordable for a reasonably wealthy family like Wendy's. But stepping back a bit, Wendy was born on August 20, 1958 in New Jersey. She was the second of two children born to Richard and Shirley Wolin. Her older sister, Jodi Ann, was about three years older. During their childhood, they lived in a house owned by their grandparents in the Highland Park borough of New Jersey.

4:58But after her parents' divorce, Wendy, Jodi Ann, and Shirley moved into the newly built Pierce Manor apartments in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This is shortly after Shirley remarried businessman Martin Fleischner in March 1965. Shirley also began working as a teacher at Drake College in Elizabeth. While many people love the appeal of a Victorian home, Pierce Manor was highly sought after at this time. It was brand new, consisting of six five-story apartment buildings, with over 300 units for rent. It sat on 10 acres of land with lots of open green spaces for kids to play. Another huge perk was the free parking in their many large-surface parking lots connected by looping driveways around the complex.

5:40Right across the street is the Elizabeth Fire Department headquarters. So Pierce Manor is brand new, modern, beautiful, family-friendly, and seemingly safe. Which was important to Shirley. Because according to statements Jodianne gave to Sarah Wallace for 4 New York News, they moved from Highland Park just 11 days after 41-year-old Ann Rubenstein and her 11-year-old daughter May were murdered in their home just a block away from where they lived with their grandparents. The case remains unsolved to this day. In many ways, this was a fresh start for this new family unit. And about a year into their new living situation in 1966, 7-year-old Wendy seemed to be thriving.

6:21She was in the second grade at public school number 23, and while she's been described as shy, sweet, and loving by her family, her classmates certainly saw a sassier side of her. They said that she liked to draw, but was also kind of a goofball, with one classmate recalling that after a particularly harsh haircut, Wendy teased him by saying he looked bald. So it seemed that Wendy settled into her new school and neighborhood just fine, and Tuesday, March 8, 1966 began as any other day for Wendy. After getting home from school, Wendy and her mother leave their apartment at about 4 p.m. to run errands and do some shopping before picking up Jodi Ann from Hebrew school.

7:00And Wendy is ready to go with her change purse holding exactly a single 1959 quarter. But like a lot of 7-year-olds, she's got some energy to burn after a long school day, so she asks her mom if she can go out to the main road and wait for her while she grabs their car from a rear parking lot. Shirley agrees and tells Wendy to meet her at the corner of Irvington Avenue and Prince Street, right across from the fire department. It's a busy street, so luckily there are a lot of eyes on Wendy as she skips down Irvington Avenue towards Prince Street, clutching her change purse. At the same time, 18-year-old Claire Moran was with her niece about 20 feet from Wendy when a man in a green corduroy coat stops her to ask for directions downtown.

7:43Claire ignores this man and keeps walking, but her niece trails behind, and when Claire turns around to look for her, she sees the man in the green coat crouched down at eye level with Wendy before he walks away towards Prince Street. But Claire sees that Wendy's doubled over in pain grabbing her stomach, so she runs to her and asks her what's wrong, and Wendy tells her that the man had punched her. So Claire and three teenage girls who also witnessed the incident help Wendy across the street to the fire department for help. They're met by fire director Edward F. Deignan, who has another employee call police while he begins to try to figure out what happened.

8:21He says Wendy was polite and coherent as he asked her what her name was and for her address. He also asked if she knew the man who did this, and Wendy said she did not. She just kept saying, quote, he punched me, the man punched me, end quote. But soon, Wendy begins to slump in the chair and eventually becomes unconscious. This is when Dagnon and fire dispatcher Charlie Stevens open her coat and sees that Wendy is bleeding profusely from her stomach. She hadn't been punched, she'd been stabbed. Stevens remembers saying, quote, my god, the blood, the blood, end quote. He also told Robert J. Braun with the Star Ledger, quote, she had this funny look in her eyes.

9:05I still see it sometimes. Like she knew something was wrong, but didn't know too. like somebody was going to fix it, but we opened her coat and I knew this kid was going to die. End quote. All of this happens in about two minutes. The two men then move Wendy to lie flat on Digan's desk in his office while Digan runs out of the station to catch the man in the green coat. Outside of the station, he alerts a nearby police officer on a motorcycle who was riding a parking ticket and the officer heads east on Prince Street to also pursue the man in the green coat. Meanwhile, Stephen stays with Wendy, trying to stop the bleeding.

9:43When Elizabeth police patrolmen Charles Williams and Peter Melchon arrive at the fire station, thinking they're responding to a call of a child being punched in the stomach, they quickly realize that there's no time to wait for an ambulance. Melchon picks up Wendy and runs to the squad car to transport her to Elizabeth General Hospital. While they're on their way, their headquarters notified hospital staff to prepare for a severe abdominal wound. A team of six doctors fought to save Wendy, but the knife had penetrated her ribs, lacerated her lever, and pierced her right lung. Seven-year-old Wendy Sue Wallen was pronounced dead at 5.15 p.m.

10:22And within hours, a 300-man city police force was mobilized to look for her killer. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Chewy. If you're a pet parent like me, you know about Chewy. And when they say that they have everything you need to keep your pet happy and healthy, you also know that they're not messing around. Chewy has over 100 ,000 products to choose from. They have food, treats, beds, you name it, they have it. And it all gets shipped directly to your door within one to two days. I am not kidding when I say that I go through Chewy for almost everything for our emotional support puppies.

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12:59Despite police responding to the attack on 7-year-old Wendy Wollen within minutes, the man who killed her escaped into the afternoon rush hour in Elizabeth, New Jersey. But police moved quickly. Within hours, all 300-plus officers with the Elizabeth police were mobilized to look for the man in the green coat. Luckily, there were 13 witnesses to the incident who were able to provide a pretty detailed description. He was a large, imposing man standing roughly 6 foot to 6 foot 2 and weighing around 220 pounds. He was white, and they estimate he was between 40 and 50 years old, with thick, light gray or white hair.

13:37They said that his extremely pale, sallow complexion gave him a lifeless appearance. He walked stiffly, sometimes with a slight limp, and he was dressed neatly in a three-quarter length green corduroy coat, dark gray or green trousers, brown shoes with white socks, and a dark fedora hat. That night, traffic blockades were put in place to stop every motorist. They boarded and searched a military troop ship bound for Vietnam docked at Port Elizabeth, questioning and verifying the alibis of every man on board. They swept taverns and rooming houses, and boarded buses and trains in the area, but the man in the green coat was gone.

14:17Per their religious beliefs, a service and Wendy's burial occurred the following day, March 9th, which unfortunately also happened to be the first wedding anniversary of Wendy's mother and stepfather. The service was held for her at James J. Higgins & Son Funeral Home. More than 200 people were in attendance. At her parents' request, she was laid to rest in her favorite pink and white party dress, and her gravestone reads, beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter. While Wendy's loved ones mourned her death, officers were scouring the city for any clue leading to the man who killed her, and they found a big one.

14:56They found the murder weapon. Witnesses reported seeing him drop the knife in the gutter as he fled the scene, but it was hidden by a delivery truck who had unknowingly parked right on top of it. After moving it the next morning, police found it stained with blood inside its brand new sheath at the intersection of Prince Street and Irvington Avenue. Or at least they believe it's the murder weapon. It's in the right place and it was covered with blood. It was a cheap hunting knife with a 4-inch blade and a black handle. That's an offer testing in Newark Laboratory. Now, of course, it's 1966, so that technology isn't anywhere near what we're used to today.

15:33But they can test the blood to see if it's human. determine the blood type, look for any trace evidence like hair and fibers, and of course they could dust it for fingerprints. So the knife is sent off while the manhunt continues. And I really want to emphasize how the murder of Wendy Wollen greatly saddened and enraged Elizabeth, New Jersey. A 13-state alarm was sent out for the man. Officers remained on duty for days and refused to go home at the end of their shifts. Police director Gustav Brugger told his team that the person who found her killer would receive an automatic promotion to detective.

16:10By the 10th, a composite sketch of the man was created and featured in dozens of newspapers and highlighted on news broadcasts across the country. Every leave request and every day off for Elizabeth police officers was canceled. Mayor Thomas G. Dunn spent every waking hour with the police. He also asked the city council to approve a$1 ,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Wendy's killer. They gave him$2 ,000, which is about$20 ,000 today adjusted for inflation. And the following day on the 11th, the city council added the additional$1 ,500 to the reward fund. The Star-Ledger called this the most intensive manhunt in the city's history as detectives from the Union County Prosecutor's Office joined the investigation.

16:56They had already received hundreds of phone calls and picked up every man in the city who'd been held for sex or disorderly conduct charges and every man accused of molesting children. This search only intensified after police were able to connect this man as the likely perpetrator of a series of other incidents within one mile and one hour of Wendy being killed. Here's what they found. At 3.15pm, approximately 45 minutes before Wendy was killed, a 12-year-old girl named Diane D. Nicola was outside of a department store when she was punched by a man matching the same description for no apparent reason.

17:35It knocked her to the ground and caused severe bruising to her right eye and cheek. Two men chased the man, but he eventually got away. 15 minutes later, 10-year-old Patricia LeVope was on her way home from school when a man with either a stick or a sharp instrument stabbed her in the buttocks She was hospitalized, but luckily she made a full recovery And just minutes before Wendy was killed, a 16-year-old girl who has not been named in the media reported that a man put his arms around her, attempting to sexually assault her less than a block from Wendy's home Now luckily, she screamed and the man fled.

18:14While these incidents have never been formally linked to Wendy's killer, most investigators and residents believe them to be related. I mean, what are the odds of several men fitting the description of Wendy's killer committing these acts within one hour and one mile of her murder? It seems slim. But even after releasing the sketch, questioning more than 1 ,500 men and setting up a dedicated tip line for the case, police still couldn't find the killer. However, after that sketch was released, they did receive a pretty promising tip. A bus driver named Leon Yerkes comes forward and reports that he believes he saw Wendy's killer at approximately 4.20 p.m.

18:56on Prince Street. The bus was out of service, but the man pounded on the doors asking to be let in. He described the man as being euphoric or on cloud nine. So this confirms the direction they believe the man was headed in, and that he was likely seeking transportation out of the area as soon as possible. It doesn't point them to the killer, but it does give them reassurance that they're on the right track. Elizabeth police also did their legwork in tracking down where the murder weapon came from. They trace it back to a Boyer's hardware store in Elizabeth, where it was being sold for$1.50. They also worked with a store to determine that a total of six people had bought this specific knife, but they don't know who purchased them, so the police make an appeal to the public to come forward if you are one of the six who purchased the knife.

19:44They also show images of an identical knife in the local paper for comparison. The police director told the Star-Ledger, quote, We pledge these buyers with absolute secrecy, and we could easily eliminate five and concentrate on the sixth person if the purchasers would contact Elizabeth Police Headquarters, end quote. but it seems that no one ever came forward. These investigators and police officers are really following every lead they can and seemingly banging their heads against the wall to come up with anything that'll help them catch this guy and on March 17th they do something that I don't think I've ever seen done before.

20:24They go to a grand jury for a former murder indictment against John Doe. Now, when I first read this, I thought that maybe they found a man that they believed killed Wendy and for some reason they just weren't naming him. But that isn't the case. They were granted this indictment for Wendy's unknown killer to preemptively facilitate an immediate extradition if a suspect were to be arrested in another state. I'm telling you guys, I've never seen a department so active and dedicated to finding a killer. and really, honestly, progressive. Not long after, about two weeks into the hunt for Wendy's killer, the Elizabeth police do something else I don't think I've ever seen done before in a case like this.

21:08They bring all 13 witnesses to a ballroom inside the Elizabeth Carteret Hotel to look at living models of Wendy's killer. They actually use Broadway actors Charles Reynolds and Richard hoe for this. The idea is to make the men look as close to the suspect as possible using clothing and makeup. After that, they'd take and distribute photographs of them to other law enforcement agencies across the country. So the men are put in their costume and their makeup, and a police officer asks the witnesses, is his hair too thin? Does the hat look right? Is this the right color shoe, the right color jacket?

21:43You get the idea. This line of questioning and tweaking the men's appearance goes on for about an hour, and then one of the witnesses says he had broad shoulders like him. But they aren't pointing at either of the models. They're pointing to a man named Michael D. Roy, who just so happens to be the chief of police. So Chief Roy hops into hair and makeup, puts on an outfit matching the description of the killer, and the witnesses are asked if he best fits the description of now all three men. And nearly all of them say yes. Now, before we get excited, there's no big twist here. As far as we know, Michael D.

22:24Roy did not kill Wendy Wollen. He says at the time of the murder, he was on his way back from a law enforcement convention in Connecticut, and the two men he was riding with vouch for him too. Like him, they also happen to be police chiefs. So it's about as solid of an alibi as you can get in 1966. But if you're like me, I was also not convinced. So it's also worth noting that the witnesses say he was shorter than the man who did it, his complexion was darker, and apparently he had much more hair than Michael D. Roy. So even the witnesses say it wasn't him, but in makeup, it was pretty close. So despite hiring these actors, it seems that their best model was there all along.

23:09Chief Roy is the one who's photographed in this makeup and costume. These photos were used to create wanted posters for Wendy's killer that were distributed across the eastern United States. Chief Roy also recreated the look and appeared on a variety of television programs highlighting the case. It was so impactful that citizens often mistook him for Wendy's killer and reported him to the police. But it never led to finding the man who was truly responsible. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by HERS. Reaching your weight loss goals doesn't have to mean completely changing the way you live your life.

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