Fred Neulander, former chief rabbi of a synagogue in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was found dead while serving a life sentence at the New Jersey state prison in Trenton.
Neulander, who was 82, had been in prison since 2002 following the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife, Carol Neulander, 52, in their home.
Two hitmen testified how they beat Carol to death on the orders of her husband, who had promised to pay them $30,000.
One said Neulander wanted his wife dead so he could have an affair.
The crime shocked the local community at the time and gained national attention due to its scandalous nature.
Fred Neulander, former chief rabbi of a Cherry Hill synagogue, died in prison where he was serving a life sentence for orchestrating the 1994 murder of his wife.
Neulander died at the age of 82, while serving a life sentence at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton (pictured)
Neulander had been in the Trenton prison since 2002. Corrections officials found him unresponsive in his cell and rushed him to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
No cause of death has been given.
Neulander’s case centered on his desire to have an affair with a local radio personality, Elaine Soncini, a DJ who worked at WPEN-FM.
The couple met when Neulander officiated at the funeral of her husband, Ken Garland, in 1992.
This led Neulander to hire two hitmen, Paul Daniels and Len Jenoff, to kill Carol.
Both hitmen were released in 2014 after serving ten years of a maximum sentence of 23 years.
Daniels even expressed remorse for his role in the crime, noting the profound impact it had on him and the victim’s family.
Carol Neulander, 52, was beaten to death on her husband’s orders in her home by two hitmen who had been paid $30,000 to carry out the murder.
Neulander’s case centered on his desire to have an affair with a local radio personality, Elaine Soncini, a DJ for WPEN-FM.
The murder of Carol Neulander, who was a beloved figure in the South Jersey Jewish community, is said to have left a lasting impact on those who knew her, reports the Philadelphia researcher.
It was discovered that the crime scene had been staged to look like a robbery and immediately raised suspicions among investigators as almost nothing in the house was touched.
It ultimately led to Neulander’s arrest and subsequent conviction, although at trial the jury could not agree on whether he should receive the death penalty, so he was sentenced to life in prison.
Carol, mother of the couple’s three children, had been beaten to death with a metal pipe.
He had been on the phone with his adult daughter, Rebecca Neulander Rockoff, when the attackers entered the family home.
The case gained further notoriety through media coverage, including true crime documentaries and even a true crime musical, A Wicked Soul in Cherry Hill, based on the events.
More than 2,000 members of the Jewish community, along with family and friends, attended Carol’s funeral.
Despite attempts to overturn his conviction, Neulander remained imprisoned until his death. Within eight years he would have to be paroled at the age of 90. He appears in the photo in 2001.
Despite attempts to overturn his conviction, Neulander remained imprisoned until his death. He would have been eligible for parole at the age of 90, eight years from now.
In 2016, a state appeals court rejected a request by Neulander to overturn his murder conviction.
“The opinion only reaffirms the jury’s strong belief in a guilty verdict in this case,” Robert English, spokesman for the Camden County prosecutor’s office, said at the time.
Following Neulander’s death, his former congregation, Kol Ami in Cherry Hill, issued a statement emphasizing the community’s path to healing.
‘Fred Neulander’s leadership of the congregation ended many years ago in highly publicized circumstances that ran counter to the values our congregation holds dear.
‘Instead of dwelling on the past, we at Kol Ami Congregation… choose to focus on our future. We are building a vibrant, inclusive Jewish community guided by shared values and traditions, supporting each other through the joys and sorrows of life, and finding purpose and connection through prayer, learning, and acts of compassion and kindness.’