Who killed Dolores Alliotts and Joan Davis? A look into the New Jersey cold case
PALISADES PARK, N.J. — In 2010, two women in Bergen County were brutally murdered several months apart, and police believe one person may be responsible.
Questions in the case remain unanswered: how and why were these women, towns apart, 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, the actual house was really engulfed in flames," said Sgt. Matthew Zablocki, with the Bergen County prosecutor's office.
They would later discover the body of 69-year-old Dolores Alliotts inside. The medical examiner determined she had been stabbed 55 times.
"Prior to that, she was bludgeoned with a actual piece of porcelain from a toilet seat," Zablocki said.
A photo from the downstairs bathroom, which Zablocki says was in close proximity to where Alliotts was found, shows a toilet that's missing the lid to its tank.
Four months later and several miles away, there was a fire at 976 Alpine Dr. in Teaneck just before 11 p.m. on Aug. 17.
The body of 74-year-old Joan Davis was inside.
"We believe that Ms. Davis was bludgeoned with a hammer two times and then ultimately stabbed several times ... She was bound at the hands and the feet," Zablocki said.
Zablocki says investigators don't know if Alliotts was bound.
"The fire was really bad, so it's possible but we can't say for certain," he said.
"Where Dolores Alliotts was found, that house no longer exists. That's how substantial the fire was," said Sgt. Anthony Primiano, an arsonist sergeant with the Bergen County prosecutor's office.
Investigators suspect "amateurish" fires were set to cover up murders
Investigators believe the fires were set to cover up the crimes.
"It was almost to the point where it was like amateurish," Primiano said. "The banister, the coffee table, a lamp and a pile of clothing."
"And do you know how entry was gained into either residence?" CBS News New York's Alice Gainer asked.
"Due to the fire at Dolores Alliotts', we don't. Joan Davis, we have a point of exit for the house, we believe. We recovered a shoe print from the side of the sink, and the sink was actually left on," Zablocki said.
"It was determined to be a size 9-10 Nike Air Jordan," Primiano said.
"Our theory is that the water was, the nozzle was kicked on as somebody exited the window," Zablocki said.
Security video shows a person in the area before the crime. It's been newly enhanced, so you can now make out a heart-shaped design on the shirt.
"The individual made a left on Minell Place, which leads directly to Joan Davis's residence," Zablocki said.
Later, Zablocki says the video shows "a fire truck driving on Teaneck Road followed by the same individual who we believe before walked towards the scene, is walking away from the scene."
Both murders had a "sexual undertone," investigator says
As technology evolves, investigators have repeatedly conducted DNA testing on the porcelain piece of toilet used to bludgeon Alliotts and the hammer used to bludgeon Davis. They believe the women were stabbed with a knife, but that has not been recovered.
"What was the motivation for this crime?" Gainer asked.
"So based off the crime scenes, we don't think anything was taken," Zablocki said. "There was a sexual undertone to both cases. We don't believe either victim was sexually assaulted, but there were certain aspects of the case which were like a little bit off ... Possibly, the offender had some type of maybe fetish or something along those lines for that type of victim being an elderly woman."
Both women lived alone. Gainer spoke with several neighbors of the women, and they said they did not have a sense of either victim's day-to-day routine.
"It's not believed the suspect was known to either victim?" Gainer asked.
"I don't believe so, based off of our interviews. We've interviewed hundreds of people, everybody from family members to landscapers to the handymen," Zablocki said.
"How would [the suspect] have found these two women?" Gainer asked.
"We've looked into things like cemeteries, you know, visiting loved ones at graves. We've looked into Joan Davis resided right near a hospital which she did some work at," Zablocki said.
"Both families indicated to me that both women suffered from mental health issues. How does that play into all of this? Were they targeted as a result?" Gainer asked.
"We have our theories. Dolores a lot of times would kind of hang out outside. She'd be in her nightgown outside," Zablocki said.
Alliotts, known as Lori, was the youngest of three and lived in the home she grew up in. Her family was well known in town. Her surviving relatives – nieces and nephews – declined an on-camera interview.
Who was Joan Davis?
Days before her murder, Davis addressed the Teaneck Town Council.
"She was one of our regulars," said Teaneck Deputy Mayor Elie Katz.
Katz was a Teaneck Councilman at the time. He says he didn't know much about Davis' personal life but would drive her home from meetings.
"She would go to all the meetings – council meetings, board of ed meetings. But she would never hurt a fly ... She just liked, this was her life," Katz said. "She would sometimes be the only one in the audience at these council meetings. It'd be raining or snowing or, and she'd be there with her notepad to ask questions."
Davis' nephew Peter Bonadies says she was estranged from the family for about 20 years up until her horrifying death.
"It was a bit of a struggle, but my mom was always trying to keep that communication open," Bonadies said.
He says his aunt was paranoid at times.
"The smoke detector may have been beeping, and she would call and say, oh, your surveillance cameras are malfunctioning," Bonadies said.
But he says "the distance doesn't erase the person that she was."
Showing Gainer photographs of Davis, Bonadies said, "This is a picture as I remember her, as a young aunt that brought 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, then worked for the United States Agency for International Development in foreign offices in Brazil.
When that job ended, she came back to New Haven then moved to New Jersey.
"So she had no ties to New Jersey prior?" Gainer asked.
"Not that I know of," Bonadies said. "The term they used was the gadfly of Teaneck, where she made sure everyone was doing what they needed to do ... That's who she was, always. She was just in love with the sense that we all have a place, and we all have to represent. We all have to be involved with government."
Bonadies took some irises from his aunt's home and planted them next to some from his late mother. He likes to think the two sisters are reunited and at peace.
Of his aunt, he adds, "She believed 100 percent in everyone being accountable for their actions."
"We want to solve this case"
Investigators are also seeking accountability.
"We want to solve this case. The families want to solve this case. Anyone who knows anything should come forward, should speak up and speak out so that justice can finally be served," said Jeff Angermeyer, deputy chief of detectives for the Bergen County prosecutor's office.
The Bergen County prosecutor's office says it's been in contact with other jurisdictions throughout the years, but right now, they have no link between this suspect and any other murders.
The FBI also assisted in putting a suspect profile together, and they believe it to be a man who was in his 20s or 30s at the time and socially awkward, with a possible history of substance abuse.
Anyone who has any information could contact the Bergen County prosecutor's office at (201) 226-5532.
