Family of murder victim sues Zarinsky
Grand jury returns charge of murder
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
Afamily member of Jane Durrua wants the man who is being charged with the murder of her sister to pay in terms of life in prison and in monetary terms.

On Wednesday, Joan Conway filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court in Freehold seeking damages in the murder of her sister, Jane Durrua, who the suit says was "viciously attacked, assaulted, sexually assaulted, beaten and battered" by Zarinsky.

Conway's attorney, Alton D. Kenney, said the family is seeking to secure money held for Zarinsky in an escrow account that would be used to hire an attorney for his defense.

According to Kenney, of Lomurro, Davison, Eastman & Munoz, Freehold, the escrow account that contains $126,000 has been successfully frozen by the legal maneuver so Zarinsky cannot use the funds.

"We are seeking damages, and that money may be most of what he has," Kenney said. "We feel that this money should go toward the loss of Jane. We want to deprive Zarinsky of these funds."

According to Kenney, Conway, as well as her two sisters Loretta Connors and Dolores Ramirez, who are named as the surviving heirs in the lawsuit, are seeking from the court "all damages allowable" under the law, together with interest, legal costs, reasonable attorney's fees and such further relief as the court may deem just and equitable.

Kenney said that he expects any hearing of the lawsuit to take place after the criminal trial.

The funds stem from a civil trial held in 2003 in which Zarinsky was found to be responsible for the death of Rahway Police Officer Charles Bernoskie, who was killed in 1958.

Zarinsky was ordered to pay $150,000 to the officer's widow, but an appeals court vacated the award in 2007, saying too much time had passed for Zarinsky to mount an adequate defense.

Zarinsky is currently serving a life term for the murder of another young woman, Rosemary Calandriello.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin announced on March 17 that a Monmouth County grand jury returned an indictment charging Zarinsky, 68, of Bridgeton, with murder and felony murder in connection with the 1968 murder of Jane Durrua, who was 13 at the time.

Jane disappeared the evening of Nov. 4, 1968, after taking a shortcut through a grass field along a railroad track on her way home to her residence in East Keansburg.

A search party, which included Jane's family members, found her lifeless, partially clothed body the following morning in the field. She had sustained blunt force trauma to her head, and it appeared that she had been sexually assaulted.

An intensive criminal investigation ensued, in the course of which over 200 individuals were questioned but no one was charged with the murder.

Authorities decided to carefully review the evidence in 1999 in light of advances in forensic science and investigative techniques.

In 2004, the Prosecutor's Office charged Jerry Lee Bellamy with first-degree murder for the crime. Bellamy, who was already in prison, proved not to be Jane Durrua's murderer.

In 2005, when Valentin became prosecutor, he said he wanted to take another look at the case. The clothing Jane was wearing when she was killed was retrieved from evidence and was forwarded to laboratories where cutting-edge technology was used to examine them for biological residue that might provide evidence of the identity of her killer.

The evidence was thoroughly and comprehensively analyzed by multiple laboratories to ensure the reliability of the results, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

The investigation resulted in a criminal complaint charging murder and felony murder being lodged against Zarinsky on March 11. Zarinsky has been charged pursuant to N.J.S. 2A:113- 1, the murder statute that was in effect in New Jersey in 1968.

Under current law, Zarinsky is subject to the criminal law and punishment as it existed when Jane Durrua was killed.

Under present laws, murder is a firstdegree crime in New Jersey. In 1968, murder could be either a first-degree or a second-degree crime in New Jersey. Zarinsky faces two charges of first-degree murder.

One charge alleges that Zarinsky perpetrated the murder by willful, deliberate and premeditated acts. The second charge alleges that Zarinsky killed Jane Durrua in the course of kidnapping and/or raping her.

If convicted of either charge, Zarinsky faces a sentence of up to life in prison. Because the No Early Release Act was enacted in 1997, it would not apply to any sentence imposed by the court.

Zarinsky was not charged with the underlying offenses of kidnapping and rape because the statute of limitations has expired for filing those charges.

Superior Court Judge Paul F. Chaiet initially set bail at $2 million on March 11. The bail was continued by Superior Court Judge Bette E. Uhrmacher at the defendant's initial appearance on March 13.

Zarinsky will be scheduled to appear at an arraignment within the next several weeks as directed by the Superior Court.