GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — It’s been nearly a decade since Carol Reiff was found dead. But authorities say they finally have a suspect, charging a man Wednesday with first-degree murder.
Joseph Grisoff, 59, of Mount Laurel, was arrested Wednesday morning in Moorestown and remanded to the Camden County Jail. Advances in DNA testing allowed detectives to connect Reiff’s former neighbor with the 2013 killing in Gloucester Township, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police discovered on June 21, 2013, that Reiff was missing from Gloucester Township’s Lakeview Apartment Complex, where she lived. They found her body three days later in a wooded area behind an old maintenance building for the complex.
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After finding Reiff’s body, detectives interviewed Grisoff — a maintenance worker who lived near the victim’s apartment — the prosecutor’s office said. At the time, Grisoff admitted to seeing the victim outside regularly and complimenting her in the past, but he claimed he never entered her apartment.
During the initial investigation, detectives recovered potential DNA evidence from a pair of Reiff’s jeans and an empty beer bottle in her apartment. The DNA-testing results at the time were inconclusive, but recent retesting revealed “the strong proposition” that the DNA belonged to Reiff and Grisoff, authorities said.
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The advances in testing gave authorities the chance to retest the evidence.
“The Gloucester Township Police Department and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office have never forgotten about Carol Reiff,” said Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins. “Since her disappearance on June 21, 2013, and the discovery of her body on June 24, 2013, we have worked to get justice for Ms. Reiff and her family. We will use all means necessary to achieve justice and prosecute those responsible.”
The U.S. Marshals Service’s Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Grisoff. A detention hearing will take place on a future date in Superior Court in Camden.
Anyone with information on this case can contact Det. Jeremy Jankowski, of the CCPO’s Homicide Unit, at 856-397-3485 or Gloucester Township Police Det. Michael Leach at 856-228-4500. Tips can be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.
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