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The Chilling Case of Rabbi Fred Neulander
83 Plays7 months ago
Brace yourself. This killer wants to murder his wife of thirty years and be with his lover. He grooms a vulnerable member of his synagogue to get it donw.
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Transcript
Introduction and Theme Discussion
00:00:21
bclawson
Well, hello listeners. I'm Bridget.
00:00:24
Caroline
And I'm Caroline.
00:00:25
bclawson
You are listening to Carth, Home and Homicide, a family production about family murders. Caroline and I narrate each story, and Andy is our producer.
00:00:37
bclawson
As Caroline and I talk about each family murder, We're not only keen on watching justice unfold for the killer, whatever that may look like. We're especially sensitive for victims and their family in top of mind. Family murders, like all murders, there's a lifelong ripple effect. Our podcasts do include violence and trauma. Listener, discretion is advised. So Caroline, I think we have a great murder today.
00:01:11
bclawson
By great murder, I mean very interesting.
Murder for Hire Case in Cherry Hill
00:01:15
bclawson
We're going to be talking about a cold-blooded murder for hire in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
00:01:22
bclawson
Are you ready to talk about it?
00:01:25
Caroline
I'm ready.
00:01:27
bclawson
All right. The hired killers are two vulnerable people, which really kind of, when I learned this story and looked into it, in my view, that that just adds to the chilling effect of this murder.
00:01:41
bclawson
Their employer, so to speak, is um a ah is a guy who, um well, he was a rabbi and you know rabbis are um revered in their community.
00:02:00
bclawson
um Anyway, there's some unbelievable elements in this family murder. More than that, it's it's also about grooming people. And it's about a husband who is not loving toward his wife, who has maybe had or a developed dark narcissistic traits of a killer who just wants what he wants.
00:02:25
bclawson
Because um if he has an idea that he wants something, God must want it to be so in this case. So anyway,
00:02:34
Caroline
Oh.
00:02:36
bclawson
I also knew a rabbi growing up and my best friend was Elizabeth Goodman in middle school and and high school. And, um you know, she used to go over to my house.
00:02:47
bclawson
I used to go over to her house and her house was just a house I wanted to be in all the time. It was always full of people.
00:02:54
Caroline
Hmm.
00:02:54
bclawson
The rabbi and the rabbi's wife were just open arms and people there all the time for various business, also counseling, also thought
00:03:00
Caroline
Yeah.
00:03:06
bclawson
provoking conversations, but mostly food.
00:03:09
Caroline
Yeah.
00:03:09
bclawson
So Elizabeth's mom was fantastic in the kitchen, and they used to let me help them serve during different celebratory events.
00:03:20
bclawson
And I learned about food. I had no idea it existed, and it was just yum.
00:03:25
Caroline
That sounds fun.
00:03:25
bclawson
So armor it was fun.
00:03:26
Caroline
And honestly, I wish that was a facet of society that would come back, although I understand why it hasn't because of the the like overwhelming anxiety and judgment that comes along with entertaining your friends and community members.
00:03:39
Caroline
But it does feel fun because I remember doing that when I was a kid.
00:03:40
bclawson
Yeah.
00:03:43
Caroline
You got you all would host something and we would you know be in charge of the food or the plates or the cleanup.
00:03:46
bclawson
Yeah.
00:03:49
Caroline
or you know it was It was fun as a child to have those experiences in grown up world.
00:03:53
bclawson
yeah Yeah, me too. Me too. I know that Rabbi, he used to talk to me personally about the difference between hamsters and gerbils because he really preferred gerbils over hamsters.
00:04:04
Caroline
That's funny.
00:04:06
bclawson
And you know, for a kid to have a grown man,
00:04:09
Caroline
Yeah.
00:04:09
bclawson
who is obviously well-respected in his community. Spend the time with me to talk about hamsters versus gerbils. Well, I just wanted to live there forever. But anyway, we're going to Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Fred Newlander's Story
00:04:24
bclawson
It's only a few miles outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And in the 60s, it was quiet. But over time, it has become a shopper's delight. They had one of the first ah malls in the country, if not the first. and um There are a lot of cherry trees, ah professionals who commute to Philadelphia for work and so forth. Our killer today is Rabbi Fred Newlander and his victim is his wife of 30 years and the mother of his three children. Her name is Carol Newlander. So let's get to talking about Carol and Fred Newlander. Carol was raised in the lap of luxury in the Hamptons.
00:05:09
bclawson
Okay, that's a picture.
00:05:11
Caroline
Yeah.
00:05:12
bclawson
So rich that she and her siblings were cared for by a nanny, a butler, a housekeeper, that type of luxury.
00:05:19
Caroline
Oh, wow.
00:05:21
bclawson
But it wasn't generational wealth that they were living off of. Her parents ran a button manufacturing business.
00:05:27
Caroline
Oh.
00:05:28
bclawson
And we know buttons are just the cutest thing in the world. I mean, we find that out when we're about two years old.
00:05:31
Caroline
Oh, yeah. I do have buttons.
00:05:35
bclawson
The buttons are fantastic. they They're historical and they're antique or they're modern and they're cute.
00:05:38
Caroline
Thank you. Yeah totally.
00:05:41
bclawson
And ah so they were wealthy. But Carol saw ah her parents and her siblings were all hardworking people. She saw what hard work could be like.
00:05:57
bclawson
It can reap benefits in terms of your ability to have a nice home and have good food. and feel supported and get a good education.
00:06:08
bclawson
And she grew up to be a thoughtful, hardworking mother and wife. She was beloved by so many people. And it was because of her constant service to the world and to the neighborhood, her, not neighborhood, but community um around her.
00:06:25
Caroline
Mm.
00:06:26
bclawson
Fred Newlander grew up in opposite circumstances. He was an only child, and his parents were very low income. He shone as an academic. He just was brilliant. And he made it into college. And there on a blind date, he and Carol met. She was going to one college. He was going to a different college. But they met you know in that general ah crowd of college kids. So from then on, they were very loving and caring about each other.
00:07:02
bclawson
They both graduated from their studies, but didn't want to get married until they both graduated. And that was in 1964. So they got married. Fred was studying religious studies in college and wanted to be a rabbi. He went on to achieve an advanced degree in rabbinical school and he was quickly hired by a synagogue in Cherry Hill to work as an assistant rabbi.
00:07:27
bclawson
And you know it takes some people 10, 20 years to become an assistant rabbi, let alone ah three. It took him, I think, less than three years.
00:07:39
bclawson
He was just he was a brain.
00:07:39
Caroline
Wow.
00:07:41
bclawson
you know
00:07:42
Caroline
Yeah, I wonder if he had connections too, you know, because especially at that time, you always used to say this and I think it's still true.
00:07:42
bclawson
he was
00:07:47
Caroline
It's not about what you know, it's about who you know. So.
00:07:50
bclawson
Well, in his case, I do think it was about what he knew and who we knew that knew what he knew.
00:07:55
Caroline
Yeah.
00:07:56
bclawson
So you know the history of Judaism, the the intellectual aspects of the Jewish community.
00:07:56
Caroline
Yeah.
00:08:05
Caroline
Right.
00:08:06
bclawson
the you know Unlike some religions, and I think some religions are like this, but I do, from an outside looking in, I see Judaism as almost more about community than any other religion.
00:08:21
Caroline
Yes, yeah.
00:08:23
bclawson
um It just seems like ah there's an emphasis on learning, there's an emphasis on um community, on family.
00:08:37
bclawson
And I'm not saying ah other religions aren't about this, but today we're gonna be talking about the Jewish religion.
00:08:42
Caroline
yeah
00:08:44
bclawson
Carol and Fred were both Jewish. Judaism, philosophy, their Jewish heritage, the customs, were both very important all very important to Carol and Fred.
00:08:56
bclawson
The community of other members of any synagogue, I think, is incredibly important. I saw that with the Goodmans and Rabbi Goodman that, you know, people are just these are your extended family members.
00:09:04
Caroline
yeah yeah
00:09:10
bclawson
These are your deepest ah friendships. And these are people who look up to you and seek you out in times of trouble. So He's working as an assistant rabbi now.
00:09:24
bclawson
And during this time, they had three children, first Rebecca, then Benjamin, and last Matthew.
00:09:28
Caroline
Yeah.
00:09:31
bclawson
So they, you know, they're doing well and they're living the good life.
00:09:32
Caroline
Yeah.
00:09:38
bclawson
And he's already in ah in an assistant rabbi position. After a few years as an assistant rabbi, Fred had many community members who looked up to him as a leader.
00:09:51
bclawson
So he's got charisma.
00:09:54
Caroline
There is, as they say.
00:09:54
bclawson
This man is very correct charismatic as well as capable.
00:09:57
Caroline
yeah
00:10:02
Caroline
Yeah. I mean, you would have to to lead a congregation. I mean, that's you have to have a certain level of. I don't know, you have to command the attention and the trust and yeah, a little charisma to get people to follow along or, you know, to want to be part of this community.
00:10:21
bclawson
Well, speaking for myself as an introvert, and I know that my daughter, Caroline, is an introvert as well, um you can be a leader as an introvert, but it's tiring.
00:10:30
Caroline
yeah to Yes.
00:10:37
bclawson
For an extrovert to be a leader is invigorating and energizing.
00:10:45
Caroline
Yeah.
00:10:46
bclawson
um So if I were Fred, I would have to take a nap. every other couple of people who might visit it or some sort of regenerative process.
00:10:56
Caroline
Yeah.
00:10:57
bclawson
But with him, um he was magnetic all the time.
00:11:01
Caroline
Yeah.
00:11:02
bclawson
He was just a very intelligent, capable, magnetic person and people were ah drawn to him.
00:11:14
bclawson
After a few years, he had all these people looking up to him as a leader. So he went to people kind of on the down low. He gathered a few dozen of these people who shared with him the idea of a new type of synagogue, a blend of Orthodox and more modern, more inclusive, more diverse. And he found the people within the synagogue he was assistant rabbi for.
00:11:48
bclawson
who wanted to break off and be with him.
00:11:51
Caroline
Ooh, I'm always curious about that, you know, because this seems like such a, both a natural part of all religious, um, followings, but also potentially an awkward part.
00:11:53
bclawson
I know.
00:12:05
Caroline
I mean, this is where you're breaking off, taking your clients. I mean, if you were in a business, that's what's happening. A lot of times they don't like that.
00:12:12
bclawson
Yeah, you know, now,
00:12:16
bclawson
There is a dark side to following one leader who is at the pinnacle of a movement away from a community that you're already in toward this other community that's about the same thing, but it's a different variation. And this one leader is going to be you know, heading it up and making decisions. But it wasn't like that with this situation. It really wasn't. This band of Fred's followers chose to meet in each other's homes, in basements, in warehouses that were empty and and not being rented out yet. I mean, you know, they traveled around while they were tithing, or I don't know what it's called. It was like that they're paying dues the way that they would have to their previous synagogues.
00:13:09
bclawson
And more and more and more and more people wanted to be part of this new kind of orthodox blend with ah more modern ideas. to Remember, now this is the nineteen ah late 1960s.
00:13:24
Caroline
Yeah, a lot of new ideas floating around.
00:13:25
bclawson
So y allall a lot of good ideas, a lot of new ideas, a lot of good ideas.
00:13:28
Caroline
and
00:13:31
bclawson
I was a hippie. I wore pre i wore prairie dresses and combat boots sometimes.
00:13:33
Caroline
Yeah.
00:13:39
Caroline
Yeah, I think you would, but if if it were being measured on today's standards, you were a little bit more on the activist side.
00:13:46
bclawson
Yes.
00:13:47
Caroline
Yeah, but I, yeah, I'm with you. The counterculture, woo woo.
00:13:50
bclawson
yeah Yeah, I was countering that culture, including my parents. But anyway, this endeavor of Fred Newlander and his followers, ah or his congregation, I guess we should say, it grew and grew and grew. And after enough after a few years, ah they had enough people in the new community to start building a new synagogue.
00:14:15
Caroline
Ooh.
00:14:16
bclawson
They chose a very, very well-traveled street like the one of the biggest streets in in the town.
00:14:24
Caroline
Nice.
00:14:25
bclawson
It was sitting on a really nice piece of property. It had multiple entrances, multiple entrances from different, ah you know, it was was so almost like inhabiting its own city block or something like that.
00:14:36
Caroline
Nice.
00:14:43
bclawson
It was going to be the hugest synagogue in the town to add really a probably a rival of anything in Philadelphia.
00:14:54
bclawson
They called it M Corps Shalom, M, capital M with a apostrophe and then K-O-R, ah Shalom.
00:15:06
bclawson
It opened its doors in 1974.
00:15:08
Caroline
Thanks.
00:15:09
bclawson
So it took five or six years for Fred to ah develop his spin-off. um But he did it, he did it. All this time, what is Curl doing?
00:15:22
bclawson
She's not only raising her children, but she's also baking, baking, baking, baking, baking, baking, baking all the time for the congregation, different events, cooking and baking, mostly baking.
00:15:35
Caroline
Thanks.
00:15:37
bclawson
And um so we're going to talk about that in a minute. ah They called it m Mcor, Mcor Shalom. It opened its doors in 1974. And overnight, Fred Newlander was now a legendary person in his own community of Cherry Hill, as well as his own. He was the head rape rabbi. Obviously, that's what he's been doing for several years, building this up. Meanwhile, Carol was doing the cooking and the hostessing events in this little then big new community. And she and Fred were leaders of that friendship
00:16:16
bclawson
she and Fred were leaders of. She did so much cooking and people just raved about her baked goods. Oh my god, she was just an excellent cook. She started her own kosher bakery called Classic Cake.
00:16:30
bclawson
She realized that there was no kosher bakery, either where they lived there in Cherry Hill or in Philadelphia.
00:16:33
Caroline
Oh, nice.
00:16:39
bclawson
And you know, in the Cherry Hill community, for example, there was In 1974, there's probably maybe 6000 people. Well, 30% of them were Jewish.
00:16:52
Caroline
Oh, well.
00:16:52
bclawson
And in Philadelphia, there were a lot more. In 2020, um there were like 7500 people in Cherry Hill.
00:17:01
Caroline
ah well
00:17:02
bclawson
And of course, Philadelphia is huge. So I mean, you know, there's a big market when you've got a third of the population wanting kosher food. And so
00:17:11
Caroline
Well, and they say that that's, but that's a great starting seed of any business is finding your niche. But if your niche is directly impacting a lack of something out there in the market that you know you need and you know, others would probably need it. I mean, that's, that's like gold at that time. If there's no other kosher place, you know, your entire population of other like-minded individuals are going to need that.
00:17:37
bclawson
I heard a podcast a while back where they were talking about kosher food and they said that somebody tried to make kosher chicken and they didn't realize that the koshering process involves a lot of salt.
00:17:52
Caroline
Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:17:52
bclawson
And, um, so they were adding salt to their kosher chicken and it was in animal. It was so salty. And that's when they learned that, you know, kosher,
00:18:04
bclawson
products, are they use the salt too.
00:18:04
Caroline
Not.
00:18:08
Caroline
Like dried out.
00:18:08
bclawson
I'm not sure. I'm not an expert in that area, but I can just tell you that you're absolutely right.
00:18:11
Caroline
Yeah, me neither.
00:18:13
bclawson
Everybody was making their own bakery goods in their homes.
00:18:16
Caroline
Yeah.
00:18:18
bclawson
And ah you know by the 1970s, the culture was more and more and more women going into the workplace. And so as a result, you know you know this this endeavor that she had to have classic cake
00:18:26
Caroline
Mm hmm.
00:18:34
bclawson
bakery, it it to it grew so fast and it was so big that eventually she had to sell it to her head baker because she had four different stores.
00:18:34
Caroline
yeah
00:18:47
Caroline
Oh, wow. Oh, that's amazing. I love that.
00:18:53
bclawson
Some in Philadelphia and some in um in Cherry Hill.
00:18:58
Caroline
Such a great problem to have. Good for her.
00:19:01
bclawson
I know now she stayed on as manager.
00:19:04
Caroline
Okay.
00:19:05
bclawson
And that's going to be important later because of some of the facts of the case.
00:19:06
Caroline
Yeah. Okay.
Marital Tensions and Affairs
00:19:10
bclawson
So let's talk about what could possibly be the motive for Fred Newlander wanting to murder his wife, Carol.
00:19:18
Caroline
That's a beautiful life.
00:19:18
bclawson
This lady is a jewel.
00:19:20
Caroline
Yeah.
00:19:21
bclawson
She's a jewel. By the 1990s, Matthew Newlander was the only child living alone in the house with his parents, although he wasn't a kid anymore.
00:19:32
bclawson
He was in post-med school working as an m EMT before going on to his residency.
00:19:38
Caroline
Hmm.
00:19:38
bclawson
So he's going to be a doctor. Well, he was already a doctor, but he was waiting for his residency before he could open practice or that kind of thing.
00:19:42
Caroline
Right.
00:19:46
bclawson
Rebecca was married. She was living in Philadelphia. Benjamin was in college, away in college, and there began to be arguments in the home, and the kids were aware that not everything was great.
00:19:58
Caroline
Oh, no.
00:20:01
bclawson
Near her death, Carol told her children that Fred no longer wanted to be married to her and that he was not interested in marriage counseling.
00:20:12
Caroline
Ouch.
00:20:12
bclawson
So these kids knew that this this marriage is going to be busted up.
00:20:16
Caroline
Yeah.
00:20:18
bclawson
That's sad.
00:20:19
Caroline
It's super sad because of how much you, I don't want to call it sweat equity, but like how much you put into that life, building a life, even though it's this intangible thing, when you look at it, kind of like what you just described, you went through this whole thing and it's like, ah for a moment there, I'm picturing it and it's like,
00:20:37
Caroline
what a what a look What a great life, like filled with yes, struggle, stress, so quick, you barely see the days, you know, I can see all of that in there too. But like, you've built all this really beautiful stuff, you're really dialed into your community around you.
00:20:54
Caroline
like There's something to that. I don't do that because I am introverted, but but I do in little facets and it's really quite lovely. and so It's you know sad to kind of hear that it gets worse than just your average everyday stresses of a family.
00:21:11
bclawson
Right now I wasn't there, so I don't know, but I do know that.
00:21:14
Caroline
yeah
00:21:15
bclawson
um you know Fred had his congregation and he had ah the biggest synagogue on earth. That's probably not true, but you know close.
00:21:27
Caroline
In his mind, I'm sure that was 100% true.
00:21:28
bclawson
he He had his own universe, so maybe there was a growing apart.
00:21:31
Caroline
Yeah.
00:21:33
bclawson
But you so just because people have different interests doesn't mean mean they need to grow apart because so long as both in a marriage are both people in a marriage are growing along their path,
00:21:38
Caroline
Right.
00:21:44
bclawson
And they're sharing their experiences with each other, meaning even just coming and telling the other person.
00:21:47
Caroline
Right.
00:21:50
Caroline
Right, having an interest, connecting on this way, finding the places that overlap, and then encouraging the places that don't, you know, it's yeah.
00:21:51
bclawson
it
00:21:55
bclawson
Right. Absolutely. So I don't know what was going on. Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight. I know that. And Matthew was so upset that Fred told him and that he Wait, Matthew was very upset about all this.
00:22:15
bclawson
I mean, he was living in the house.
00:22:17
Caroline
Yeah, that's gotta be hard.
00:22:19
bclawson
And one day ah Fred told his son, look, it's not that big a deal. Your mom and I are engaged in extramarital affairs out in the open.
00:22:33
bclawson
We have an open marriage.
00:22:34
Caroline
Oh, that can't be true.
00:22:35
bclawson
Caroline, why would you tell that to one of your, you know, your child?
00:22:38
Caroline
Yeah, no.
00:22:39
bclawson
Your child who, yeah, he's grown up, he's actually you know a doctor, i you know do or whatever. I mean, why would you say that?
00:22:49
Caroline
Yeah, that's not the dynamic. Plus, you're not in a community that would behave that way anyway. You know what I mean? like His community, his synagogue, his followers, his the bakery, the clients, no one in this neighborhood is like going like, oh yeah, that's how you do it.
00:23:07
bclawson
and We're just a swinging synagogue.
00:23:09
Caroline
Right.
00:23:09
bclawson
No, there was none of that.
00:23:11
Caroline
don't See it that way. like
00:23:12
bclawson
But in truth, Caroline, for a long time, Fred Newlander had affairs with several women in his congregation. And people tended to turn a blind eye to it because, ah you know, it was subtle.
00:23:27
Caroline
Well, and no one wants to get rid of the community, do they?
00:23:27
bclawson
yeah and They didn't.
00:23:30
Caroline
And I think this is the part of the community that I don't like. You know?
00:23:34
bclawson
Yeah, I know. I know.
00:23:35
Caroline
This keeps me at bay.
00:23:37
bclawson
and no I mean, you know, I did read somewhere that, um you know, for a deep in the south, fear of God, Baptist meant pi pastor, having an affair would be a deal breaker.
00:23:52
Caroline
Yeah.
00:23:57
Caroline
Okay, good.
00:23:57
bclawson
He'd have to go before the congregation and everybody on his TV show and say, I have sinned.
00:24:02
Caroline
I'm so sorry. Yeah, we've seen that before.
00:24:03
bclawson
Yeah, I'm so sorry. but But a rabbi's life is not quite like that. In other words, you know, there's a little more, there's not the fire and brimstone.
00:24:16
bclawson
It's more like, um it's just not like a Southern Baptist kind of, I have fallen.
00:24:24
Caroline
Yeah.
00:24:24
bclawson
If you have fallen or if you have done things that are not ah in sync with the teachings,
00:24:28
Caroline
Yeah.
00:24:34
Caroline
Well, no, it's not a really good point. You're absolutely right about that. I've never, you know, I've seen a lot about the Catholic Church and I've seen a lot of like Christianity, sort of that Protestant, the Baptist, like we know about all their scandals.
00:24:46
Caroline
I don't tend to hear a lot about Jewish scandals. Well, they, they must have like better PR folks because as human beings, we know their scandal.
00:24:49
bclawson
No, no.
00:24:53
bclawson
I don't know what they've got.
00:24:54
Caroline
every
00:24:56
bclawson
ah All I know is as Fred was, get you know, he was fishing from the synagogue pier.
00:25:02
Caroline
Okay.
00:25:03
bclawson
Let's just put it that way.
00:25:04
Caroline
Oh, that's awful.
00:25:08
bclawson
But he made a key mistake. And that was he ended up falling in love with someone. ah Local radio.
00:25:19
bclawson
celebrity who hosted the morning commute in Philadelphia along with her husband. I mean, you know, they were celebrities. Her name is Elaine Soncini.
00:25:32
bclawson
Her husband Ken ah developed fatal leukemia. And of course the radio listeners came to know that and to know that he was going to have to drop his program and that he was, you know, he was facing the end of his life.
00:25:38
Caroline
home
00:25:48
Caroline
Oh my gosh.
00:25:49
bclawson
He was Jewish and Fred Newlander was his rabbi. Elaine and Fred met over Ken's deathbed in the hospital.
00:26:00
Caroline
Oh my god, excuse me while I throw up. That's the most awful thing I've ever heard.
00:26:07
bclawson
That Fred is hitting on the wife of someone who's dying in the hospital.
00:26:10
Caroline
over this dying man. This is the worst. I mean, control yourselves, both Elaine and Fred. Like, I'm not pooh pooh-ing anybody falling in love with people, but doing it over your dying husband, your dying other person you
00:26:24
bclawson
Well, I mean, you know, he was seriously like near death and the rabbi came in and Elaine was there. Elaine was Catholic, but when she and Fred got together during the aftermath of her husband's death, Fred coming over to comfort Elaine, you know, yeah, I'm going to comfort you.
00:26:50
bclawson
and I'm going to comfort you all night long, Elaine, that's what's going to happen.
00:26:53
Caroline
I'm uncomfortable. I'm so uncomfortable. I don't that.
00:26:56
bclawson
It's a violation of trust and boundaries and and morals and ethics and a whole lot of stuff that we could talk about.
00:26:57
Caroline
Big time.
00:27:06
bclawson
But you know, I don't think Elaine, you know, Fred asked her, can may I kiss you? And she said, sure. And that's how it started.
00:27:16
Caroline
how
00:27:16
bclawson
So, you know, he made the move and she said, bring it on. So um once that started, she wanted to be Jewish.
00:27:26
Caroline
hmm okay that's not easy from the what i have seen on tv and i will be open that that's all i've seen but doesn't look easy to become jewish
00:27:26
bclawson
So she became Jewish. She converted.
00:27:39
bclawson
Well, you know, she had an end with the rabbi now, didn't she? What a high time they had together. until Elaine asked Fred to divorce his wife, Carol.
00:27:55
Caroline
o
00:27:55
bclawson
Look, I want to go to a restaurant with you. I want to go out to the theater. I want to do things in Philadelphia. I want to do this. I want to do that. I don't want to have to have this private relationship with you.
00:28:06
bclawson
I want you to divorce Carol or we're done.
00:28:10
Caroline
Yeah, that's a weird place to have that conversation down the road so far, but glad you said it, I guess.
00:28:18
bclawson
He said he could not risk divorce vis-a-vis his status as a rabbi at M Corps synagogue, M Corps Shalom synagogue. In October, Elaine decided to leave Fred.
Manipulation and Grooming for Murder
00:28:33
bclawson
This is October of 1994. Elaine decided to leave Fred, but he promised her, he said, look, by the end of 1994, I'll be free. Don't worry about it.
00:28:48
bclawson
I'll be free.
00:28:51
bclawson
I mean, if I were Elaine, I would say, so you're going to kill her? Is that what you're telling me? But that's not what she's.
00:28:56
Caroline
you i would say she
00:28:57
bclawson
I mean, he's already been telling her I cannot divorce my wife.
00:28:58
Caroline
just thinking
00:29:00
Caroline
Yeah, she's probably still thinking divorce though or that she's something else would um I guarantee you Nobody's thinking anyone's gonna murder anybody at least I would Well,
00:29:09
bclawson
I don't think these two people are thinking with the right part of their anatomy, you know?
00:29:14
Caroline
that's true they're not really thinking at all that's a good point
00:29:17
bclawson
No. Now, what Elaine did not know was that Fred had already groomed a killer for hire over many months ever since he had met Elaine in 1993.
00:29:32
Caroline
Hmm.
00:29:33
bclawson
So I said we were going to talk about the motive.
00:29:37
Caroline
that Yeah.
00:29:38
bclawson
So Fred and his wife aren't getting along.
00:29:39
Caroline
Yeah.
00:29:41
bclawson
Fred doesn't want to go to marriage therapy. Fred doesn't want to get a divorce. Fred is um having sexual relations with some of his congregation and it's a well-known secret and then he fell in love with Elaine and she's telling him you can't be with me and Carol at the same time so you're gonna have to divorce Carol and he says well I can't do that but I'll be free don't worry I'll be free by the end of 1994
00:30:13
Caroline
Oh, so creepy. I like got chills just. but
00:30:17
bclawson
It is the chilling of Fred Newlander. This man is a leader. He's obviously self-centered.
00:30:27
Caroline
Yeah.
00:30:29
bclawson
He's obviously got impulse control problems.
00:30:32
Caroline
Yeah.
00:30:33
bclawson
um Or maybe his ego is so huge that nothing occurs to him about this being an impulse.
00:30:37
Caroline
That's what I was thinking.
00:30:42
Caroline
Yeah.
00:30:43
bclawson
This is like, I'm on my path. This is my mission.
00:30:46
Caroline
Totally.
00:30:46
bclawson
I have a right.
00:30:48
Caroline
I'm sanctioned by God. I think that.
00:30:50
bclawson
I'm sanctioned by God.
00:30:51
Caroline
Yeah.
00:30:51
bclawson
Look at what I did.
00:30:52
Caroline
Cause it's not even just leader.
00:30:52
bclawson
I created the fall.
00:30:53
Caroline
He's a religious leader.
00:30:54
bclawson
Yes, absolutely.
00:30:55
Caroline
Yeah.
00:30:55
bclawson
All of the above.
00:30:56
Caroline
Yeah.
00:30:57
bclawson
And remember, it was 1974 that the synagogue was finished complete. And by 1993, when he met Elaine, you know, he's 20 years into being the the major domo of the whole
00:31:08
Caroline
It's a big dude. Yeah.
00:31:15
bclawson
community that has come. And you know, if by then you've got maybe 6,000 residents of Cherry Hill, just to Cherry Hill alone, then you've got 1,800 congregant possibilities.
00:31:30
Caroline
a lot that' a lot
00:31:32
bclawson
And then you've got people from Philadelphia.
00:31:34
Caroline
yeah
00:31:34
bclawson
Philadelphia was like six minutes away.
00:31:38
Caroline
I was going to say, you know, I don't think we have a, oh I don't have a concept of that. I know you've been on the East Coast more, but like, I've never even been to the East Coast. I've been to Georgia. And so, and I, I went to the Newark airport on my way to France.
00:31:50
Caroline
So like, i've that's it. But I don't, but I hear about all the time that you can take trains between like several of these States. Within a day, you know, it's like a 30 minute train ride, the 40 minute train ride.
00:31:59
bclawson
Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:32:01
Caroline
And like, that's just sounds so fun. I can't even get to Seattle in 40 minutes.
00:32:03
bclawson
ah Yes, it is. I mean, this would be like me and you going to the grocery store.
00:32:08
Caroline
Right, right, right. Yep.
00:32:10
bclawson
And so this is this is the buildup is that Fred Newlander. All right, we're going to talk about it. So now he he's going to hire his killing.
00:32:22
bclawson
There's no possible way that he's going to get his hands dirty.
00:32:22
Caroline
Yeah.
00:32:26
bclawson
So he's going to hire killers and he's going to have a very good alibi. So, Lynn Jenoff had met the rabbi in 1993, right when he was, you know, thinking about marrying or Elaine's husband Ken and taking his place.
00:32:48
Caroline
Yeah.
00:32:48
bclawson
So, um he met, Lynn Jenoff happened to meet the rabbi. He had sought counseling for low self-esteem, and he later attended an Alcoholics Anonymous program at McCorish Long.
00:33:03
bclawson
Now, in truth, this guy, Lynn Jenoff, he was at the bottom of the bottom of the bottom. He was a drunk.
00:33:10
Caroline
Yeah.
00:33:10
bclawson
He lost his family. um He ah needed help. he was He was on like public assistance.
00:33:23
Caroline
Oh wow, he really had fallen.
00:33:24
bclawson
He was so down and out.
00:33:26
Caroline
Yeah.
00:33:27
bclawson
ah He was a sincere, bottomed out, Lynn Jenoff, who had, again, you know, he had drunk his way out of his wife, his kids, his house, his career, and he was at the bottom, and he reached out to M Corps Shalom Synagogue for help as a last resort.
00:33:50
Caroline
Well, good for him for doing that. I know he's our killer. However, i I will say most people just let themselves fall all the way down. So good on you, Len, for recognizing you were at the bottom of your bottom and still putting your hand out.
00:34:02
bclawson
I agree. i i think I think I might have said at the beginning of our episode that that, you know, I didn't say it this way, but Fred Newlander had radar like nobody's business.
00:34:04
Caroline
That's huge.
00:34:14
Caroline
Yeah, yeah. Right.
00:34:17
bclawson
He could read people within seconds.
00:34:21
Caroline
Yeah.
00:34:22
bclawson
That is one of the things that makes him a great leader.
00:34:25
Caroline
Right and a good spiritual leader because that's important.
00:34:28
bclawson
a good spiritual leader and an empathetic person and all of the above.
00:34:29
Caroline
Yeah.
00:34:34
bclawson
But he's predatory and he saw a need that he had.
00:34:37
Caroline
Yeah.
00:34:42
bclawson
And all of a sudden somebody came into his life to fit the bill. A very, very, very, very vulnerable man.
00:34:52
Caroline
Yeah.
00:34:54
bclawson
By the way, Lynn Jenoff had contacted a 1-800 number that was for Jewish people in trouble. Like, ah yes.
00:35:02
Caroline
Oh, that's how he got connected. Like a 180, like a hotline.
00:35:06
bclawson
Yes.
00:35:07
Caroline
Thank God the hotline was there.
00:35:08
bclawson
Right, right.
00:35:09
Caroline
Unfortunately, it went to the wrong leader.
00:35:10
bclawson
And that that person said to try and encore Shalom synagogue because ah they had a great ah rabbi there who maybe could help.
00:35:23
Caroline
Oh.
00:35:26
bclawson
and are is your stomach turning, mine is, and I already know this story and what's going to happen.
00:35:27
Caroline
Yes, yes. It just, yeah.
00:35:31
bclawson
It's just, it's just stomach turning. Rabbi Newlander immediately saw an opportunity to groom a killer. First, he let him join M Corps Shalom Synagogue without any obligation for dues.
00:35:45
bclawson
He was to sit in the front rows so that rabbi Rabbi Newlander could hug him in time in the time during services when the Reb, I would leave his where he was talking from his pulpit or whatever it's called, and he could mix among attendees.
00:36:02
Caroline
Hmm sounds a little bit on that showy churchy side like out And you do feel the spirit in all of them I get it
00:36:02
bclawson
It was a kind of a meet and greet time and.
00:36:08
bclawson
Yeah, so um well, it is a religion, Caroline, I mean, yes. um um And it is about community.
00:36:20
bclawson
But Fred Newlander knew that Lynn Jenoff had low self-esteem. That's why he reached out. He he had such low self-esteem. He had no self-worth.
00:36:31
bclawson
He was at the bottom of the bottom. I want you to, I'm going to help you. And one of the ways I'm going to help you is I'm going to help people accept you into the community. So you sit up front and I will make it a point to give you a hug so that people know you're with me.
00:36:46
Caroline
Yeah. ah This breaks my heart because low self-esteem to me is just a huge scary vulnerability to walk around with, particularly like the younger that you are, um because it's so exploitable. yeah As humans, we long for connection. Part of low self-esteem is not having that connection even when you're connecting with other humans. You still are having this self-dialogue around This is just a one-off lucky thing for you. Don't get used to this. like I don't think people like understand when someone's declaring, my I have self-esteem issues, like how strong those can really be and how susceptible you are, trust me. like I think about it all the time because there's a fear of being exploited, used. um
00:37:35
Caroline
just the same way he was. is And so this ah it makes me so uncomfortable, this case, and it makes me really upset, not in like a mad frustrated, but like in a really sad, scared way, you know?
00:37:47
bclawson
i I couldn't agree more. I mean, you're really um plugging into how I feel. And um you know somebody told me once, and I think it was a therapist, because you know I really believe in therapy.
00:38:01
bclawson
I mean, talk therapy is like, to me, can be like water to a thirsty person.
00:38:02
Caroline
Yes. Yeah.
00:38:08
bclawson
And yeah, if you when you find the right person, somebody you can trust.
00:38:08
Caroline
Yeah, when you find the right person, it's choice.
00:38:13
Caroline
Yeah.
00:38:13
bclawson
And I remember therapists telling me, you know, Bridget, You've got achievements in your life that you can lean on and you can use to bolster yourself. And that's called self-esteem.
00:38:25
bclawson
And I don't notice in you that you completely lack self-esteem. And what we're going to be working on is something called self-worth.
00:38:35
Caroline
Ooh.
00:38:36
bclawson
Self-worth is, yeah, damn, damn.
00:38:36
Caroline
Dang, mama. Dang, mama.
00:38:41
bclawson
Self-worth is something that is not contingent upon your achievements.
00:38:46
Caroline
Mm.
00:38:48
bclawson
Self-worth is taking care of yourself, forgiving yourself, laughing at yourself, just realizing that, you know, that was interesting.
00:38:53
Caroline
Yeah. Right.
00:39:00
Caroline
Yeah.
00:39:00
bclawson
I won't do that again. And having that self-worth, then you're going to be less and less and less and less susceptible to pleasing other people.
00:39:10
Caroline
Yeah. Ooh.
00:39:12
bclawson
You'll still want to please other people, but you'll see it for what it is.
00:39:14
Caroline
Of course.
00:39:17
bclawson
And it takes a long time to develop this self-worth and you don't have to do anything to get it. All you have to do is believe that you to deserve to value yourself at the same value as every other human being on the planet.
00:39:31
Caroline
Yes. Mm.
00:39:36
bclawson
And she was very effective in helping me And I think Fred Newlander, when it came to Lynn Jenoff, I believe that he saw the low self-esteem, but he also saw the low self-worth.
00:39:48
Caroline
Yeah.
00:39:52
Caroline
Yeah. And he, well, in at the time he's met Elaine. So instead of seeing it as he's the spiritual leader is supposed to, like your therapist did to say, Hey, this is going to give you more than what you're already able to get.
00:40:06
Caroline
Let's do it. He said, Oh snap. I got an idea. Like that's creepy and scary and sad. And I feel so bad for letting in.
00:40:13
bclawson
It's a predatory, predatory and it's psychopathic.
00:40:15
Caroline
and a told ah Yes. Yes.
00:40:18
bclawson
So Fred took smoke walks with Jenoff and they talked. Lynn Jenoff had greatly exaggerated his importance to members of the Jewish community and people were telling the rabbi about that.
00:40:30
bclawson
And he was saying that he had this or that degree, which wasn't true. He had served in elite military roles. That's not true. So Fred said to him, why do you lie?
00:40:41
bclawson
And Jenoff answered that he always suffered from low self-esteem and making up stories were so much better than the truth. On one of these walks, Fred Newlander started talking to Lynn Jenoff about the Israeli Mossad because it seemed to Fred Newlander that Jen, Lynn Jenoff was very interested in being part of the Israeli Mossad. He wanted to be, the Israeli Mossad is like the, it's not exactly like, but it'd be like if you were in the CIA.
00:41:16
Caroline
Yeah, or like the Navy SEALs.
00:41:17
bclawson
but
00:41:18
Caroline
let's I mean, it's like a little bit like.
00:41:19
bclawson
You're protecting your country.
00:41:20
Caroline
Yes, it's a.
00:41:21
bclawson
You're protecting your country.
00:41:22
Caroline
Yeah.
00:41:23
bclawson
Lin was really keen on that, that he wished he was at that level.
00:41:28
Caroline
Yeah.
00:41:29
bclawson
And Lin just was always over the moon. So what did Fred do?
00:41:33
Caroline
Is
00:41:34
bclawson
Let's talk about the massage. Let's talk about I have friends in the Israeli massage.
00:41:40
Caroline
that true?
00:41:41
bclawson
No, this is Fred Newlander trying to siphon off, get to and drain out of Lynn what he would be willing to do.
00:41:49
Caroline
Yeah.
00:41:54
Caroline
do Yeah. Oh, God.
00:41:55
bclawson
So he's grooming, he's grooming and he's at the
00:41:57
Caroline
So uncomfortable. I don't know how people can do this. I recognize I should be more comfortable with seeing it so I can put a stop to it when I see it out there in the world. But God, this level of exploitation just. Oh, he be.
00:42:09
bclawson
Well, you need to talk to your kids about it because they're going to encounter it.
00:42:12
Caroline
Yes. I agree.
00:42:14
bclawson
um I'm sorry it took me this many years to tell you about that.
00:42:21
Caroline
Yeah, I feel like I've locked out pretty pretty.
00:42:24
bclawson
Well, you know about this already because I know you've talked to your kids about the predators on the Internet.
00:42:27
Caroline
Actually, that's true. Well, that and like you were saying about self-worth, like I battle with my kids like everybody else in the tween and teen years to take, to you know, hygiene, right? Just basic hygiene. But the way that I sell it is you have to take care of yourself in minimum ways, like these bare minimum ways you have to take care of yourself because it's how you show everybody else the bare minimum that they are going to treat you like the bare minimum level of value and respect they're going to show for you. You have to show it for yourself first so that they know.
00:42:58
bclawson
Well, later today, tell them about the difference between self-worth and self-esteem because when I learned of that, it did help me cope with the drive to please other people.
00:43:03
Caroline
Yeah, that's huge.
00:43:11
Caroline
That's a big one, I think, that needs attention to, in terms of giving people tools to navigate. Because I like being a people pleaser, like you said, there's a value there. but But I don't like that I can't turn it off at the right time.
00:43:20
bclawson
Oh.
00:43:24
bclawson
Well, you're a helper like me. I like to help people and I like to
00:43:27
Caroline
Yes.
00:43:28
bclawson
I like to come up with solutions to problems and other people have the coping strategy of ignoring the problem and I want to solve the problem.
00:43:30
Caroline
Yes.
00:43:36
Caroline
Yes.
00:43:37
bclawson
And so there's nothing wrong with having those drives of of zeroing in on what people need and trying to help them.
00:43:39
Caroline
Yes.
00:43:46
bclawson
There's nothing wrong about that. There's ah something wrong about exploiting that for a murder um good or sex.
00:43:50
Caroline
Yes.
00:43:55
Caroline
Or anything, really.
00:43:55
bclawson
that Those things are just awful.
00:43:57
Caroline
Yeah.
00:43:58
bclawson
So Fred Newlander asked Lynn on one of these smoke walks, Lynn, would you be willing to kill an enemy of Israel? Now, they've been talking about the Mossad.
00:44:10
Caroline
and framing it this way, yeah.
00:44:11
bclawson
Would you be willing to kill an enemy of Israel? Lynn Jenoff gave him the scoop. ah ah Yes, oh my God, that is my golden life, is to be the kind of person that could do something like that. And then the the Rabbi said, well, there's an enemy of Israel in our congregation that needs to be killed. Would you do it? Yes, yes, of course I would do that. And it so happened that Lynn Jenoff had a roommate from his rehab
00:44:49
bclawson
a young man called Paul Daniels. Lynn Jenoff and Paul Daniels would be paid 300, excuse me, $30,000 by the rabbi for this secret service to Israel.
00:45:06
bclawson
fred
00:45:06
Caroline
whoa
00:45:08
bclawson
Rabbi Fred Newlander assured Lynn that he, Fred, would also, in addition to the 30,000, recommend him to his close associates
00:45:11
Caroline
Woah.
00:45:19
bclawson
within the Israeli Mossad and maybe he could get in.
00:45:21
Caroline
Cuckoo!
00:45:25
bclawson
Oh my God.
00:45:27
Caroline
Woah.
00:45:28
bclawson
So now Rabbi Newlander knows this is going to be my killer. He's doing this throughout 1993 and he's doing this way before he gets the ultimatum from Elaine.
00:45:45
Caroline
This is so creepy because this borders on terrorist recruitment as far as I'm concerned.
00:45:47
bclawson
it
00:45:50
Caroline
I'm not trying to make any political statements. I don't really care. But to I've never heard of a of a spiritual leader coming like real ones who are truly spiritually connected.
00:46:04
Caroline
ever coming to a conclusion that the removal of life from another life form is part of the required process. That's not a thing. That's never going to be a thing. I just I cannot believe that he would do that.
00:46:17
Caroline
And to use this.
00:46:17
bclawson
I can't believe it either because of Rabbi Goodman. I have an image of what rabbis are.
00:46:24
Caroline
Right.
00:46:25
bclawson
And when I read about this family and murder, I knew I needed to delve in.
00:46:30
Caroline
Yeah.
00:46:31
bclawson
Because what are in the world are you telling me this man must have had a brain injury to cause him to be this evil?
00:46:37
Caroline
Something. Yeah.
00:46:41
bclawson
I don't believe that he could lead all these people and learn all this stuff and be the scholar the way that he is and be so good and do so much good and, you know, be married to this wonderful woman and all of that.
00:46:41
Caroline
oh
00:46:51
Caroline
And then use that.
00:46:55
Caroline
know It's.
00:46:58
bclawson
I just couldn't believe it, but it's real. This is what he did.
00:47:02
Caroline
wow
00:47:03
bclawson
And oh my God, he's done this to this broken man.
00:47:07
Caroline
Mm hmm.
00:47:07
bclawson
an alcoholic at the bottom clawing his way back to personhood.
00:47:13
Caroline
Well, yeah, who would be the number one susceptible recruitment opera, you know, like, that's, that's exactly who terrorist organizations are going for, you know.
00:47:21
bclawson
I know, and it makes me so damn mad, Fred even told him that he would officiate on a quote, late in life bar mitzvah for Lynn, since Lynn had never had one growing up.
00:47:23
Caroline
of
00:47:36
bclawson
He's using his synagogue and the tenants of the Jewish faith to make a killer that he can use like a toy.
00:47:49
bclawson
That's just the most horrible thing about this, not counting the murder. So let's talk about the murder.
00:47:55
Caroline
Well, as a side, I do before we dive into the actual murder, I do hope that the Jewish I don't know, I know that each religion has sort of like top tiers in terms of
Murder Execution and Aftermath
00:48:05
Caroline
management. These are organizations. They're accountable to themselves. However, like, I hope there's some new training going in that addresses this piece that allows congregants to remain in control of their personhood.
00:48:19
Caroline
while they are seeking spiritual guidance. Do you know what I'm saying?
00:48:24
bclawson
I think that's probably part and parcel of the teachings of the Jewish faith.
00:48:24
Caroline
It's that cult borderline thing.
00:48:29
bclawson
I think that i think said Fred Newlander is a snake ah in the clothing of a scholar.
00:48:37
Caroline
Yeah.
00:48:45
Caroline
Yeah. Yeah.
00:48:47
bclawson
He's a snake.
00:48:48
Caroline
So it's hard, like, like you couldn't really prevent this through education or through like, yeah.
00:48:48
bclawson
I don't...
00:48:52
bclawson
No, no. No, and you can't spot it either.
00:48:54
Caroline
Okay. I want to. Yeah. I mean, you could see my mind.
00:48:58
bclawson
So it's.
00:48:58
Caroline
I immediately want to. I'm like, how do we put in place?
00:49:01
bclawson
I know, I know, and I would please so many people if you could do that, but but it would help so many people and I don't I don't want to do family murders anymore.
00:49:02
Caroline
Oh, God.
00:49:08
Caroline
That's the way it works.
00:49:14
Caroline
Right.
00:49:14
bclawson
But I mean, every time I read about a murder, by a family member, of course, because of domestic violence and so forth and so on, which this is domestic violence.
00:49:33
Caroline
Yeah, this is like mind games to an umpteenth degree. which Really bad.
00:49:37
bclawson
Absolutely.
00:49:38
Caroline
Yeah.
00:49:38
bclawson
So we're going to talk about the killing. It is mid-October 1994. Two weeks before the day she died, Carol Newlander was home Tuesday evenings, as usual,
00:49:52
bclawson
because she routinely brought the cash from the bakery home to count and make out the deposit for Wednesday. Remember, she's still managing the, the she she sold it to the chef, I mean the baker, but and he's the owner, but she's still serving as a um office manager.
00:50:04
Caroline
Yeah.
00:50:13
bclawson
So she's still having office worker meetings at her house.
00:50:18
Caroline
Yeah.
00:50:18
bclawson
She's still baking a lot and helping people
00:50:19
Caroline
I'm bald. Yeah.
00:50:21
bclawson
in the congregation of the synagogue. She's still doing all of those things. And one of the things that she did on Tuesday evenings is bring the money home. We're talking between 5,000 and $15,000 every Tuesday in cash.
00:50:36
Caroline
Thank you.
00:50:40
bclawson
And only Fred and the kids and the owner of Classic Cakes, the baker, knew about this practice. Rebecca called. Now, Rebecca's one of their children. Rebecca, she lives in Philadelphia, she's married. She called her mom as usual and they chatted. And I think they talked every day. So the doorbell rang a while this phone conversation was going on between Carol and Rebecca. So Carol told Rebecca, well, hold on, somebody's at the door. And Fred did tell me that somebody was going to be delivering something. So just hold on, just hold on. The man at the door was Lynn Jenoff, his partner, Paul,
00:51:18
bclawson
was dressed in black in the shrubbery holding an iron pipe. Lynn gave an envelope to Carol and said, hey, this is, you know, to be delivered to you. But out the window, Lynn noticed that it was still light outside and there were neighbors that were out in their yard. And he chose not to kill Carol that day. He asked Carol, may I use your restroom? I'm so sorry.
00:51:41
bclawson
When he returned, Carol had opened the envelope, and it was empty. And she said, well, this is empty. He said, oh my god, I must have grabbed the wrong envelope. I am so sorry. I'll come back. um So Paul eventually got into the car along with Jenoff. So they sped away. During this process, Carol went back to the phone to tell Rebecca what was going on, of course. She said, sorry about that. um it was you know It was all very normal and innocent, and the man was using
00:52:11
bclawson
had to use the bathroom and the daughter and she decided to call him Bathroom Man and they laughed a like little, you know, it was just funny. So then two weeks later on November 1st, 1994, Rebecca and Carol were again on the phone, the doorbell rang, and it was Lynn Jenoff again.
00:52:31
bclawson
And she looked out the window first before she um you know opened the door because she didn't have any notice that anything was going to be happening.
00:52:37
Caroline
Yeah.
00:52:40
Caroline
Right.
00:52:41
bclawson
And it was Leanne, and she thought, oh, it's the bathroom man. So she let him in. Come on in. And she told Rebecca, got back on the phone. She said, let's just talk later.
00:52:53
bclawson
It's the bathroom man. He's here to give me whatever it was he was going to give me a couple of weeks ago. They giggled and they laughed.
00:52:59
Caroline
Yeah.
00:52:59
bclawson
Now, the daughter did say, call me when he leaves, OK? And right after she hung up the phone, Jenoff hit her and kind of knocked her out and then in came Paul with the pipe.
00:53:15
bclawson
And Carol was murdered with a lead pipe crashing down again and again on her head until she was dead. The only thing she ever uttered according to Lynn later was, why are you doing this to me?
00:53:30
bclawson
I wish they had told her, Fred told me to.
00:53:33
Caroline
I know, I know.
00:53:33
bclawson
I do.
00:53:36
Caroline
Well, that might have been more confusing, you know, like I don't think this woman deserved any of this, nor do I think she was being
00:53:36
bclawson
Fred had told
00:53:45
Caroline
like unreasonable or difficult or even upset about any of it. She was just trying to navigate it in a kind with the kindness and grace that she had.
00:53:51
bclawson
Absolutely.
00:53:53
Caroline
And so, oh, so upset right now.
00:53:54
bclawson
Right. But, you know, if she died with one man and thinking that she, two men thinking that she was an enemy of Israel, which later they realized was just a a way to get them to kill somebody.
00:54:05
Caroline
A ruse. Yeah, that was the exploitive lie, you know. ah
00:54:11
bclawson
Slowly over the next seven years, Fred Neumeier was finally brought to trial. His son Matthew testified that he knew his father had orchestrated the murder of the minute it had happened.
00:54:23
bclawson
It took years, though, before the suspicions against Fred Neumeyer, with absolutely no evidence, turned into probable cause. And that's not that unusual. Sometimes it takes years to gather the evidence.
00:54:32
Caroline
Yeah. Yep.
00:54:36
bclawson
So what happened to to cause it to go from you know accusations to probable cause? In the first place, Rabbi Fred Newlander was not acting as a grieving husband.
00:54:47
bclawson
Everybody could see that. He just was not acting right.
00:54:50
Caroline
Yeah.
00:54:51
bclawson
He told people to not be sad because she was shot and died instantly, which was not true. She wasn't shot.
00:54:58
Caroline
Why would you tell people not to grieve either? I've never understood that. We have to get over it is like not a real thing.
00:55:01
bclawson
I don't, I don't, it made him uncomfortable, you know, he wanted to move on. He told people that the case would never be solved. because he was convinced that it was a quote, a damn, one of those damn Colombians who will kill you for a nickel.
00:55:18
Caroline
I don't even know what that means. That's weird.
00:55:21
bclawson
I don't either. I mean, he's just railing against a popular, you know, ah phrase of the day, maybe, I don't know.
00:55:29
Caroline
this Yeah, the popular discriminations potentially available to him from his community.
00:55:35
bclawson
anything, just whatever mean thought was going through his mind, which we now know is lingered with mean thoughts.
00:55:41
Caroline
Yeah.
00:55:41
bclawson
The synagogue put him on a leave and then asked him to leave because all of this suspicion sort of brought forward all of the dalliances that he had had in the past.
00:55:52
Caroline
Oh.
00:55:53
bclawson
Some women were so getting together and saying, well, thank God we're not dead.
00:55:57
Caroline
Yeah. Oh.
00:55:58
bclawson
So i mean his his his reputation started to take a dive.
00:56:03
Caroline
Leak out, yep.
00:56:04
bclawson
um And it had come to light that he was engaging in a romance with Elaine Soncini, although Elaine broke it off with him the day after the murder, and she went and told her story to police.
00:56:18
Caroline
Good for you, Elaine.
00:56:19
bclawson
Yes.
00:56:19
Caroline
I'm so happy you put your glasses back on.
00:56:22
bclawson
Yes. And you know she told the police that she was scared of him, that he was going to come kill her after she broke off with him. So police gave her a bodyguard.
00:56:35
bclawson
And she wound up marrying the bodyguard within a matter of weeks.
00:56:39
Caroline
Well, I have so many questions there that don't need answers, but good for you, Elaine.
00:56:42
bclawson
that's That's like a side road that we're not gonna go down. But you know Elaine was really looking for somebody who would take care of her.
00:56:51
Caroline
That's it. She needed love.
00:56:51
bclawson
Ken was probably just you know the love of her life and she needed another Ken. And here comes the bodyguard and wanna be Ken for the next 30 years, you betcha.
00:57:01
bclawson
Okay, let's go. i mean it
00:57:02
Caroline
Right. I mean, she really is lucky because she wasn't a vulnerable state. I don't know anything about her relationship with her husband, but I do know that death is a big flipping deal. I think the best advice you ever got from a grief counselor was don't just don't do anything for a year.
00:57:17
Caroline
Have the thoughts, write them down, make them as plans, but don't execute any major plans for at least a year.
00:57:23
bclawson
Right.
00:57:24
Caroline
I think that's a really wise thing to do.
00:57:24
bclawson
I know. Oh, I took it to heart and it did help me because I wanted to move to Arizona so that I could find a talented shaman who would bring him back to life.
00:57:34
Caroline
I know.
00:57:34
bclawson
That's where I was at.
00:57:36
Caroline
I'm still there.
00:57:36
bclawson
I'm sorry. Yeah. I'm not laughing at myself, but I'm laughing at myself. But I'm also realizing, well, of course that's what I thought because, you know, I'm used to fixing problems.
00:57:48
bclawson
This is the biggest problem I've ever
00:57:50
Caroline
That's right.
00:57:51
bclawson
Happened and somebody I love more than anybody in the whole wide world ah Has died and I need to fix that Right and so I have a lot of mercy on Elaine so you go girl But anyway, they had the story they had the motive But they didn't know what had happened They couldn't find the hired killers and Fred Newlander had hired a private investigator
00:57:59
Caroline
I can't handle that as a problem. That's just going to stay there. Yeah.
00:58:05
Caroline
Sure. That's right. Mm hmm.
00:58:21
bclawson
into the murder of his wife because the heat was on, he got lost, his job and all these things.
00:58:22
Caroline
What?
00:58:26
bclawson
So he hired a private investigator. Guess who what his name was?
00:58:30
Caroline
what
00:58:32
bclawson
Lynn Jenoff was a private investigator.
00:58:32
Caroline
No. That's
00:58:35
bclawson
Yeah.
Legal Proceedings and Conclusion
00:58:37
Caroline
smart.
00:58:37
bclawson
Then a journalist found out about this investigator and a local journalist said she started talking to Lynn Jenoff.
00:58:44
Caroline
Go for her.
00:58:46
bclawson
And she realized right away, I'm just going to haunt this man and we're going to have coffee together. And I'm going to find out more about this rabbi because I think he killed his wife.
00:58:53
Caroline
That's great.
00:58:58
bclawson
So did everybody else.
00:59:00
Caroline
Really?
00:59:00
bclawson
But he wasn't, I mean, yeah, most people were thinking, you know, I mean, he lost his job.
00:59:01
Caroline
Oh.
00:59:04
Caroline
because every Because of all the details we started doing.
00:59:06
bclawson
He had all the, there was just a lot of rumors.
00:59:06
Caroline
Yeah.
00:59:08
bclawson
And so, yeah, plus the police knew about the, about the Elaine.
00:59:11
Caroline
Yeah.
00:59:15
Caroline
Elaine and how that you'll be free.
00:59:16
bclawson
and the ultimatum that she had given him and what he had said, oh, we'll be together by the end of 1993.
00:59:24
Caroline
Yeah.
00:59:24
bclawson
So anyway, this journalist cultivated over two years, Lynn Jenoff. She already had a sense that you know he was gonna spill the beans about what was really going on.
00:59:38
bclawson
So over this long period of time, Lynn became somewhat enamored of her. And she never had an affair with him or anything, but she let him have a little crush on her.
00:59:49
bclawson
And finally he broke down and confessed the whole thing.
00:59:53
Caroline
Oh, wow. Okay.
00:59:54
bclawson
You know, I think Lynn is a good person down deep.
00:59:54
Caroline
so
00:59:57
Caroline
I did too. I think Lynn was reaching out for for help. Lynn did all the right things. He just got abused, including by this journalist.
01:00:02
bclawson
Yes.
01:00:04
Caroline
But isn't it funny, this kind of abuse is abuse. I can get behind to get to the truth. You know what I'm saying? Like she exploited right.
01:00:11
bclawson
She did what journalists do. She was trying to get her story and she was tenacious.
01:00:15
Caroline
Right. She was going to get that story.
01:00:16
bclawson
She stuck with it for two years and he leaked little things until finally one day he confessed.
01:00:18
Caroline
Yeah. the
01:00:22
bclawson
And she went with him to the police station.
01:00:26
Caroline
Well, because that's like the right thing to do, but I do. There's a part of me that's like, okay, well, there's a little bit of manipulation that goes on in that kind of thing.
01:00:33
bclawson
Well, you know, it here's how I feel about manipulation.
01:00:36
Caroline
Yeah.
01:00:38
bclawson
It depends on your motive.
01:00:40
Caroline
um Yes. Like what's the.
01:00:41
bclawson
You're manipulating someone to get something for yourself.
01:00:41
Caroline
yeah
01:00:45
Caroline
Just for yourself. Yeah.
01:00:46
bclawson
That's manipulation.
01:00:48
Caroline
Bad.
01:00:48
bclawson
You are reading the person and trying to sort of match, pace yourself with their pace and lead them to where you want to go.
01:00:58
Caroline
Yeah.
01:00:58
bclawson
And it's not a dark place. That is more like a leadership thing or an investigative tool.
01:01:04
Caroline
Yeah. Or supportive. You're trying to support them out of this dark space.
01:01:06
bclawson
Yeah. So it kind of depends on your motive.
01:01:09
Caroline
You're right. That's true.
01:01:10
bclawson
Yeah.
01:01:11
Caroline
Point.
01:01:12
bclawson
So I'm okay with this journalist doing this.
01:01:14
Caroline
Yeah. Well, me too.
01:01:15
bclawson
And I'm okay with, if you really want to know the truth, I love Lynn a lot more than I would ever love Fred Newlander.
01:01:21
Caroline
I agree.
01:01:21
bclawson
So there were two trials for Fred Newlander.
01:01:22
Caroline
Yeah.
01:01:25
bclawson
One on in 2001, which ended in a hung jury, believe it or not.
01:01:33
Caroline
Hmm.
01:01:34
bclawson
The second trial in 2002 ended in a guilty verdict. This is a capital murder case.
01:01:39
Caroline
Wow.
01:01:39
bclawson
So he could be put to death. He being Fred. The jury sentenced him to life in prison with no parole for 30 years, because they couldn't agree on life versus you know death penalty.
01:01:49
Caroline
o
01:01:51
bclawson
Lynn Jenoff and pat Paul Daniels were pled out to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for testimony. And they each received 14 years. They each were released after 10 years.
01:02:04
bclawson
I'm going to admit something. I'm OK with that.
01:02:06
Caroline
I kind of am too.
01:02:06
bclawson
I'm OK with that.
01:02:07
Caroline
That feels like Justin.
01:02:08
bclawson
They were the killers, yes.
01:02:09
Caroline
Yeah.
01:02:10
bclawson
But Len Jenoff was manipulated in a deep, dark, psychotic way. And Paul Daniels was a very vulnerable schizophrenic with a heroin addiction.
01:02:21
Caroline
Yeah.
01:02:22
bclawson
So I have more sympathy for them and I am hoping that they're living an okay life.
01:02:33
bclawson
So to me, it was Fred Newlander who beat his wife of 30 years with a lead pipe, although He probably doesn't see it that way. He always believed he would get early release or appeal or something like that. But Rabbi, former Rabbi Fred Newlander died April 17th, 2024. He was found dead in his cell, allan in his cell on the floor in the infirmary ward of the New Jersey State Prison.
01:03:09
bclawson
And when I heard about this case, the fact that he had died, then I sort of unraveled everything that was out there about Fred Newlander.
01:03:21
bclawson
And that's why he was on our list of family murders that are very interesting and unpredictable, double very, I would never, never
01:03:28
Caroline
Yeah.
01:03:33
bclawson
I would never ever see a rabbi as someone who could go dark like this, but he did.
01:03:40
Caroline
yeah
01:03:43
Caroline
Yeah, scary. It's very unsettling. I don't think I've ever really considered this either. The story's sad because of all the victims. There's more than just the murder victim here. I think, I think unusually the perpetrator is one of the victims, the perpetrator of the actual crime. The total mastermind obviously is the really the only person here, Fred, who I'm not. He makes me very uncomfortable. I'm kind of happy he's not on this planet in that form anymore.
01:04:12
bclawson
He too, and he just died.
01:04:14
Caroline
Yeah.
01:04:14
bclawson
He he he finally got, he was at 30, he was 82 and obviously ailing or he wouldn't have been on the infirm reward.
01:04:20
Caroline
Yeah.
01:04:23
Caroline
I mean, maybe, you know, prison's a weird thing. I only know what I know about it from TV, and it just sounds like a whole little civilization with ruthless, you know, justice exacted at will.
01:04:32
bclawson
It is, and he probably did rabbi type things in the, you know, to in order to keep from getting, you know, murdered.
01:04:40
Caroline
Probably, yeah. yeah.
01:04:41
bclawson
So today's episode is ah research written and narrated by me and Caroline produced by Andy. Our research is solely based on public domain documents, including legal documents, articles, and books. And um I also always dig out things like trial transcripts and stuff like that because there's so much evidence there. Episodes are aired every other week. And if you like us, please subscribe and give us a five star review. Tell your friends about us in person and by social media. All of these actions help new listeners find us. Thank you. Those of you who are already listeners and bring in more people. We love to tell these stories. We appreciate you.
01:05:29
bclawson
our listeners so much, and don't forget to live and let live. So bye bye, Caroline.
01:05:39
Caroline
Bye-bye.
01:05:44
bclawson
We are done with you, Rabbi Newlander, in lieu of our usual music. Okay, bye bye, Caroline.
01:05:55
Caroline
by