PALISADES PARK, NJ — In 2010, two women were brutally murdered in Bergen County within months of each other, and police believe one person may be responsible.
Questions in the case remain unanswered: How and why were these women, with the exception of cities, apparently targeted? And who killed Dolores Alliotts and Joan Davis?
Women found murdered after house fires in Bergen County, New Jersey
On April 28, 2010, just after 2:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a house fire at 261 12th St. in Palisades Park.
“When police first responded to that case, they actually didn’t even know it was a homicide. The fire and the whole house actually went up in flames,” said Sgt. Matthew Zablocki, of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
They would do that later discover the body of 69-year-old Dolores Alliotts inside. The medical examiner determined she had been stabbed 55 times.
“For that, she was hit with an actual piece of porcelain from a toilet seat,” Zablocki said.
A photo of the downstairs bathroom, which Zablocki said was near where Alliotts was found, shows a toilet with the tank lid missing.
Four months later and several miles away, on August 17, there was a fire at 976 Alpine Dr just before 11 p.m. in Teaneck.
Inside was the body of 74-year-old Joan Davis.
“We believe Ms. Davis was struck twice with a hammer and ultimately stabbed several times… She was restrained hand and foot,” Zablocki said.
Zablocki says investigators don’t know if Alliotts was tied up.
“The fire was really intense, so it’s possible, but we can’t say for sure,” he said.
“Where Dolores Alliotts was found, that house no longer exists. That’s how big the fire was,” said Sgt. Anthony Primiano, an arson sergeant with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Investigators suspect that ‘amateurish’ fires were set to cover up murders
Investigators believe the fires were started to cover up the crimes.
“It was almost to the point where it seemed amateurish,” Primiano said. ‘The banister, the coffee table, a lamp and a pile of clothes.’
“And do you know how access was gained to both homes?” asked Alice Gainer of CBS News New York.
‘We didn’t do that because of the fire at Dolores Alliotts. Joan Davis, we think we have an exit from the house. We found a shoe print on the side of the sink, and the sink was actually left on it. Zablocki said.
“It was determined to be a Nike Air Jordan size 9-10,” Primiano said.
“Our theory is that the water was kicked when someone came out the window,” Zablocki said.
Security video shows a person in the area before the crime. It has been improved again so that you can now see a heart-shaped design on the shirt.
“The subject turned left on Minell Place, which leads directly to Joan Davis’ residence,” Zablocki said.
New Jersey State Police Forensic Imaging Unit
Later, Zablocki says the video shows “a fire truck driving on Teaneck Road, followed by the same person who we believe was walking to the scene earlier, walking away from the scene.”
Both murders had “sexual overtones,” the investigator says
As technology evolves, investigators have repeatedly conducted DNA tests on the porcelain toilet piece used to knock down Alliotts and the hammer used to knock down Davis. They think the women were stabbed with a knife, but it has not yet been found.
“What was the motivation for this crime?” Gainer asked.
“So based on the crime scene, we don’t think anything was taken,” Zablocki said. “Both cases had sexual overtones. “We don’t believe that either victim was sexually assaulted, but there were aspects of the case that were a little strange… Possibly the perpetrator had some sort of fetish or something like that for that type of victim, an older woman.”
Both women lived alone. Gainer spoke with several of the women’s neighbors and they said they had no idea of either victim’s daily routine.
“Didn’t we assume the suspect was known to either victim?” Gainer asked.
“I don’t believe so, based on our interviews. We interviewed hundreds of people, everyone from family members to landscapers and handymen,” Zablocki said.
“How could [the suspect] Have you found these two women?” Gainer asked.
“We looked into things like cemeteries, you know, visiting loved ones at graves. We looked to see if Joan Davis lived near a hospital where she did some work,” Zablocki said.
“Both families indicated to me that both women had mental health issues. How does that influence all of this? Did that make them targets?” Gainer asked.
‘We have our theories. Dolores often hung out outside. She was standing outside in her nightgown,” Zablocki said.
Alliotts, known as Lori, was the youngest of three and lived in the house where she grew up. Her family was well known in the city. Her relatives – nieces and nephews – refused an on-camera interview.
Who was Joan Davis?
Days before her murder, Davis addressed the Teaneck City Council.
“She was one of our regulars,” said Elie Katz, deputy mayor of Teaneck.
Katz was a Teaneck councilman at the time. He says he didn’t know much about Davis’ personal life, but that he would drive her home after meetings.
“She went to all the meetings – council meetings, board of directors meetings. But she would never hurt a fly… She just loved it, this was her life,” Katz said. “Sometimes she was the only one in the audience at these council meetings. It was raining or snowing, and she was there with her notebook asking questions.”
Davis’ cousin Peter Bonadies says she was estranged from the family for about 20 years, until her gruesome death.
“It was a bit of a struggle, but my mom always tried to keep that communication open,” Bonadies said.
He says his aunt was paranoid at times.
“Maybe the smoke detector was beeping and she called and said, oh, your surveillance cameras aren’t working properly,” Bonadies said.
But he says that “the distance doesn’t erase the person she was.”
Bonadies showed Gainer photos of Davis and said, “This is a photo as I remember her, as a young aunt bringing me ice cream.”
Bonadies described Davis as an “incredibly talented writer” and a social and political activist.
Originally from Connecticut, she had one sibling, attended an all-women’s college and then worked for the United States Agency for International Development in foreign offices in Brazil.
When that job ended, she returned to New Haven and then moved to New Jersey.
“So she had no prior ties to New Jersey?” Gainer asked.
“Not that I know of,” Bonadies said. “The term they used was Teaneck’s gadfly, making sure everyone did what they had to do… She always was. She was just in love with the feeling that we all have a place, and that we all need to be represented. We all need to be involved in government.”
Bonadies took some irises from his aunt’s house and planted them next to some of his late mother’s. He likes to think that the two sisters are reunited and at peace.
About his aunt, he adds, “She believed 100 percent that everyone was responsible for their actions.”
‘We want to solve this case’
Researchers also want to be held accountable.
“We want to solve this case. The families want to solve this case. Anyone who knows anything needs to come forward, speak out and speak out so that justice can finally be served,” said Jeff Angermeyer, deputy chief of the Bergen Criminal Investigation Department Police. The provincial prosecutor’s office.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office says it has been in contact with other jurisdictions over the years, but at this time they have no connection between this suspect and any other homicides.
The FBI also helped put together a suspect profile, and they believe it involves a man who was in his 20s or 30s at the time and was socially awkward, with a possible history of substance abuse.
Anyone with information can contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office at (201) 226-5532.
