Fred Neulander
Encyclopedia
Fred Neulander is an American Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

 rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

, was convicted of paying two men to carry out a "hit" on his wife Carol Neulander who was murdered in the family home in 1994. He is currently serving a prison term of 30 years to life in Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...

.

Biography

Neulander was the founding Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 of the Congregation M'Kor Shalom
Congregation M'Kor Shalom
Congregation M'Kor Shalom is a Reform Jewish synagogue located on 850 Evesham Road in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.Founded in 1974, M'Kor Shalom has over 1,000 members and is affiliated with the Reform Movement.-Mission Statement:...

Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...

 Temple
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

 in Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States, which opened in the summer of 1974. Previously, he had been the assistant Rabbi at Temple Emanuel, also in Cherry Hill. Neulander graduated from Trinity College in 1963. He was convicted of paying congregant Len Jenoff and drifter Paul Daniels $18,000 to kill his wife Carol on November 1, 1994. The case became a media circus and was broadcast live on CourtTV. In February 1995, he resigned as Rabbi from Congregation M'Kor Shalom
Congregation M'Kor Shalom
Congregation M'Kor Shalom is a Reform Jewish synagogue located on 850 Evesham Road in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.Founded in 1974, M'Kor Shalom has over 1,000 members and is affiliated with the Reform Movement.-Mission Statement:...

.

Trials

Tried before Judge Linda G. Baxter, the first trial resulted in a hung jury. It had been empaneled in Camden County. Area newspapers reported rumours that the panel hung 9-3 in favor of guilt. Due to the intense media coverage in Camden County, the re-trial was moved to Monmouth County. At the re-trial, Neulander was defended by Mt. Holly attorney Mike Riley. In Monmouth, Fred Neulander was found guilty. Neulander's son Matthew, whose testimony at the first trial had been lukewarm, was by the time of the second trial thoroughly convinced of his father's guilt, which was reflected in his testimony. Following the verdict, Assistant Prosecutor Jim Lynch
Jim Lynch
James Robert Lynch is a former American football linebacker who spent his entire eleven-year professional career with the American Football League and National Football League Kansas City Chiefs.-Early years:...

 submitted to the jury on the question of the death penalty which the jury panel declined. Neulander was sentenced to serve 30 years to life in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...

. In an interview by ABC's Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...

after his incarceration, he told her “You have no idea how much rage I have.” He was also saddened that two of his three adult children testified against him.

Appeal

In December 2006, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Courts denied Fred Neulander's appeal. His appellate counsel had argued that the trial Court had erred in not permitting Neulander to argue a third party liability defense based on a similar home invasion burglary murder that had occurred in Cherry Hill. Neulander had also argued Court error on the issue of double or triple layer "hearsay" evidence; i.e., the out-of-court statement by Carol Neulander as elicited by and through her daughter, about the telephone conversation involving the "bathroom man." Although an appeal and Post-Conviction Relief application were planned, Neulander's best chance at a new trial had been lost. He is currently imprisoned in New Jersey State Prison.

External links

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