Prosecutor Andrew Carey is reopening the 47-year-old homicide of a 17-year-old girl believed to be killed by Robert Zarinsky. Watch video
Linda Balabanow NEW BRUNSWICK -- Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey announced Thursday he is reopening the 47-year-old killing of Linda Balabanow, who was 17 when she disappeared on her way home from a store in Roselle and ended up in the Raritan River in Woodbridge.
Convicted killer Robert Zarinsky has been the prime suspect in Balabanow's death since her body was found, a month after she disappeared in March 1969.
Zarinsky was just tied to a 50-year-old murder case by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Wednesday through a new analysis of DNA evidence and other evidence.
"We are going to take another look at the case," Carey said. "I have had recent discussions with Acting (Monmouth) Prosecutor Gramiccioni and am thankful to him and his staff for the information that they have shared with us. As we do with all cold cases involving homicides, we regularly review whatever new evidence may be available, and we are hopeful whenever we find another piece of the puzzle."
When Balabanow's body floated to the surface , her skull was cracked and her jaw was broken, according to an autopsy performed in 1969. The medical examiner determined she had been killed by a ferocious blow to her head.
When detectives executed a search warrant on Zarinsky's car in the investigation into the disappearance of Rosemary Calandriello, 17, of Atlantic Highlands, a hammer was found that contained some skin and hair similar to Balabanow, according to documents released during Zarinsky's 1975 trial for Calandriello's murder.
Calandriello had also disappeared in 1969.
Calandriello's body was never found, but a Monmouth County jury convicted Zarinsky of her murder and he died in state prison more than seven years ago. He was also suspected in the killings of at least three other girls in addition to Balabanow.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office maintained it never brought charges against Zarinsky for Balabanow's homicide because there was not enough evidence.
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