These 12 Homicides Remain Unsolved In Morris County

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — According to FBI data, around half of murder cases in the U.S. go unsolved. These investigations, known as cold cases, can last decades, and only rarely do they reach conclusions.

There are a number of cold cases active in Morris County, of which the investigators’ leads have run dry. According to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, there are unsolved mysteries that date all the way back to the 1930s.

See 12 cold cases below:

1. Anna Ulm

In August 1933, police recovered the dead body of a middle-aged white woman in Mount Arlington. The woman was later identified as Anna Ulm, 45.

The death was deemed a homicide, and Ulm’s killer was never caught.

2. Unidentified Baby Boy

In February 1945, police found a dead infant boy near Brooklake Road in Florham Park. The baby’s death was ruled a homicide.

3. Thomas Large and Stanley Kukes

In December 1945, two dead men were found by a highway maintenance worker near Route 6, now Route 46, in Montville.

The pair was eventually identified as Thomas Large, 38, of Newark, and Stanley Kukes, 38. A 1945 newspaper report says the two were ex-convicts and that they were dead for two days before being found.

Police said the pair were murdered; however, no suspects were ever charged.

4. Santo Joseph DiStefano

Santo Joseph DiStefano was last seen alive in Ernie & Buff’s Tavern, 21st Street, Paterson, on March 22, 1947. Three months later, his body was discovered near Green Pond Road in Rockaway Township.

Officials ruled DiStefano’s death a homicide, but no charges were ever made for his murder.

5. Hyman Goldstein

In July 1954, Hyman Goldstein, 29, of Brooklyn, NY was found murdered in the back seat of a sedan parked on Swamp Road in East Hanover Township.

The car Goldstein’s body was found in was reported stolen out of Newark earlier that day. No suspects were ever charged for his slaying.

6. Unidentified Baby Boy #2

In March 1954, a baby boy was found killed near Bridge #545, Long Hill Road in Harding Township. His killer was never apprehended.

7. John Richard Bowers

In June 1955, the body of 8-year-old John Richard Bowers was found near Snake Hill Road in Rockaway Township.

Bowers was last seen the night before, outside of his Newark apartment, around 9:30 p.m. He was reported missing by his mother around 10:15 p.m.

Witnesses describe a black sedan leaving the area around the same time of his disappearance, leading police to believe it may have been the perpetrator. However, no arrests were ever made for Bowers’ kidnapping or murder.

8. Unidentified Baby Girl

In May 1959, police found a dead baby girl near Vail Road in the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany. Her cause of death was deemed to be homicide, and her killer was never caught.

9. Serena Waterman

In October 1963, Chatham police responded to a house fire on 67 Linden Lane.

Authorities discovered Serena Waterman, 61, dead inside her burnt home.

Investigators later found that Waterman had been killed before the fire engulfed the home, deeming her death a homicide. No suspects were ever charged for her murder.

10. Unidentified Baby Girl #2

In March 1967, police found a dead baby girl near Baileys Mill Road in Harding. Her cause of death was deemed to be homicide, and the murderer was never identified.

11. Alexander Messier

On February 3, 1969, just before 3 a.m., Alexander Messier, 51, was killed outside of his Pequannock home on Ryerson Avenue.

According to prosecutors, Messier had chased the suspect outside of his home after his daughter cried for help. The perpetrator killed Messier and got away, officials said.

The perpetrator, who has yet to be identified, was described as a 45-year-old white man, 200 pounds, approximately 6’ tall, with receding brown hair, lots of hair on the sides, who wore a waist-length jacket with a ‘v’ at the neck.

12. Joyce Coleman

In February 1970, Washington Township police found Joyce Coleman, 28, dead in her home around 1 a.m.

Police discovered Coleman after receiving a phone call from her husband.

Newspaper reports from 1970 said an intruder killed Coleman and that the couple’s baby boy was found safe.

Nobody has been charged with the murder of Coleman.

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Anyone with information on any of these cold cases is asked to call the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-6200.