{"id":10194,"date":"2023-01-17T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=10194"},"modified":"2023-01-30T08:04:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T13:04:15","slug":"annals-of-new-jersey-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=10194","title":{"rendered":"Annals of New Jersey Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Trenton, N.J., Times<\/em>, recently devoted several pages to a true-crime mystery from the Garden State. Reporter Rebecca Everett detailed the investigation and failed prosecutions of the murder of 77-year-old John Kingsbury. Kingsbury died on Super Bowl Sunday 2012 at his home in Mullica, a rural township in New Jersey\u2019s Pinelands area. His son Glenn, who returned home and discovered the body, as well as first responders, thought a fall or stroke accounted for the blood on and around the elderly man\u2019s head. None of them saw the bullet holes from a gun described as \u201csmall enough to fit in the palm of your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glenn and his girlfriend, Karen Drew, cleaning up, found two spent .380 shell casings and called emergency services immediately. Too late. John died before reaching the hospital, and they had just cleaned up a murder scene. Now, eleven years later, no one has been convicted of John Kingsbury\u2019s murder. Reporter Everett says the cold case is \u201cfilled with enough shocking twists, shadowy characters and law enforcement bungling to fill a \u2018Knives Out\u2019 sequel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who are John and Glenn Kingsbury?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Kingsbury was a retired RCA electronics specialist, a member of Mensa, and Korean War veteran who trained K-9s. In shaky health, he\u2019d moved to New Jersey a few months before his death to live with his son. Glenn and Karen own lucrative cheerleading event companies Cheer Tech and Spirit Brands. When they return home after a typical event, they\u2019re holding tens of thousands of dollars in cash. \u201cAnyone who worked with them would know that,\u201d Everett wrote, \u201cIncluding Michael Castro.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robbery seemed the likely motive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Kingsbury was at home alone when the killer or killers arrived at the family home. There was no weekend\u2019s worth of event receipts, Karen Drew had already taken them to the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police found no indication of a break-in, and nothing appeared to be missing, but, unexpectedly, the video surveillance system had been disabled. Karen\u2019s suspicion immediately fell on Castro, who she said had been pestering her that afternoon with cell phone calls about her and family members\u2019 whereabouts. What\u2019s more, Castro owed Glenn several thousand dollars, some of which he\u2019d used to set up a mixed martial arts studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the lead detective, Michael Mattioli, interviewed Castro four days after the killing, Castro immediately called a Camden County Sheriff\u2019s Officer he knew, Lauren Kohl. It wasn\u2019t until after she was contacted by Mattioli that Kohl reported two handguns missing from her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Investigation Botched from the Start<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Atlantic County prosecutors worked on the case against Michael Castro for more than a year, in an investigation \u201ctorpedoed by errors and oversights,\u201d Everett was told. Among them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n