Naman Shrestha
The chilling and mysterious murder case of 16-year-old Jeannette DePalma is explored in a detailed manner in the episode titled ‘Jersey Witch Hunt’ of Hulu’s ‘Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal.’ Her disappearance, followed by the discovery of her remains, left the entire community shell-shocked while grief took over her loved ones. With several people hinting towards witchcraft, the investigators looked for a more logical manner of her death. Featuring interviews with Jeannette’s family and friends, the episode allows the viewers to learn more about the case and its aftermath.
Jeannette DePalma’s Remains Were Found Six Weeks After Her Disappearance
Jersey City native Jeannette Christine DePalma was the beloved daughter of Salvatore DePalma Sr. and Florence M. Treich DePalma, who brought her into the world on August 3, 1956. The DePalma household, which was built with love and care, also consisted of two brothers — Salvatore Jr. and John. While growing up in a house on Clearview Road in Springfield Township, New Jersey, Jeannette saw big dreams and had a lot of potential to make a name for herself in the future. Seemingly during her teens, she met a guy named Wayne Tate, and they dated for a while.
Unfortunately, a life-altering tragedy awaited the DePalma family. On August 7, 1972, in the afternoon, Jeannette had plans to visit one of her friends. So, she left her Springfield Township residence and told her mother that she would take a train to her friend’s place. Her loved ones became concerned when she neither showed up at her friend’s house nor returned home to her family that evening. Salvatore and Florence reached out to her other friends and acquaintances and tried their best to find out their daughter’s whereabouts. When nothing seemed to work, they decided to take the help of the police.
The following day, Jeannette’s parents reported her missing to the Springfield Police Department. Despite the investigators and local searchers working together to find the 16-year-old, there seemed to be no trace of hers anywhere near the area where she was last seen. About six weeks after her disappearance, the young girl’s remains were discovered on top of a cliff inside Springfield’s Houdaille Quarry on September 19, 1972. As per the accounts of several witnesses present at the scene, Jeannette’s skeletal remains were placed in the middle of numerous seemingly occult objects.
The Case Went Cold Due to Lack of Evidence But the Family Remains Hopeful
Many witnesses claimed that Jeannette’s remains were discovered inside a coffin-shaped perimeter along with small wooden crosses. There were also assertions made by several locals that her remains were found lying on a pentagram, and around them were the remains of mutilated animals. However, all these claims were outright denied by the authorities. When they inspected the body and sent it for autopsy, they learned that the teenager died on or around August 7, 1982, but still could not figure out the exact cause of her death. More rumors of witchcraft surrounded the discovery of Jeannette’s remains due to the fact that they were found on a cliff, which is also known as “the Devil’s Teeth.”
Even newspapers like the New York Daily News and the Newark Star-Ledger reported that Jeannette could have been a victim of witchcraft allegedly conducted by Satanists or witches operating in and around the nearby Watchung Reservation. Despite spending several weeks and resources in search of any clue or lead related to the mysterious death of the teenager, the detectives only seemed to reach dead ends. Thus, in light of different stories and claims from the victim’s friends and family, without anything concrete, the case turned cold. Even after more than five decades into the case, her loved ones have not given up hope. They maintain an organization called Justice for Jeannette DePalma in an attempt to keep her memories alive while still searching for clues that could help them attain justice for their girl.
