Jessica Tush, 19 MSG [REMAINS DISCOVERED] [Update: B/F Charged]

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State police probe discovery of woman’s body in Pinelands
Burlington County Times

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BASS RIVER — State police are investigating the death of a woman whose corpse was discovered yesterday in a shallow grave in a wooded area of the Pinelands here.

The corpse was identified as 19-year-old Jessica Tush of Staten Island, NY, state police Capt. Al Della Fave said today. He declined to specify the cause of Tush’s death but described it as “highly suspicious.”

Tush’s remains were found mid-morning yesterday after hikers came across what appeared to be a freshly dug grave, Della Fave said. The hikers contacted authorities and state police unearthed the body, he said.

No further details such as where the body was located or how long Tush was suspected to have been dead were released.

An investigation into the woman’s death is ongoing, Della Fave said.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-04042008-1514116.html

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UPDATE: Police say dead woman was reported missing from Staten Island mall
Burlington County Times

BASS RIVER — A 19-year-old woman whose body was found yesterday morning in a shallow grave in a wooded area of the Pinelands here had been missing since Wednesday, according to the victim’s mother.

Jessica Tush, 19, of Staten Island, N.Y., was last seen at 2 p.m. at a store in the Staten Island Mall, according to a message posted by the victim’s mother, Dina Tush, on her daughter’s MySpace Web page.

The message urged anyone who had seen Tush to contact her family immediately. It was posted on the Web page at 5:48 p.m. yesterday, apparently after state police had already unearthed Tush’s body from a shallow grave within the Pinelands in Bass River.

It was not immediately clear when state police were able to identify the body.

State police Captain Al Della Fave said the grave was found mid-morning yesterday by hikers. He declined to specify the cause of Tush’s death, but described it as “highly suspicious.”

No further details were released.

An investigation into the woman’s death is ongoing, Della Fave said.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-04042008-1514130.html

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Body of missing Staten Island teen found in New Jersey woods
by Staten Island Advance
Friday April 04, 2008, 3:23 PM

New Jersey State Police officials have confirmed that a body that was found in a shallow grave in Burlington County is that of a Staten Island teen who has been missing since Wednesday.

According to New Jersey State Police Captain Stephen Jones, hikers in Bass River Township, a remote area in the region's Pine Barrens, discovered the freshly-dug grave late yesterday morning and alerted the authorities. The identity of Jessica Tush was confirmed later in the day.

A medical examiner is conducting tests to determine cause of death, but preliminary investigations revealed signs of strangulation, police sources said. Although friends originally believed that Ms. Tush was abducted from her job at the Staten Island Mall, sources said there are indications Ms. Tush was not taken by force, and knew her assailant.

According to sources, Ms. Tush, who worked at the Staten Island Mall, was last seen at 2 p.m. at the BCBG store in the mall on Wednesday.

Ms. Tush's mother, Dina Tush, left the following message on her MySpace page, dated yesterday:

"Jessica was last seen at BCBG at 2 pm on Wednesday on April 2. She was supposed to go to AJ's Wake at Bedell. Did anyone see her there??? Has any one seen her today or even yesterday? Please it is very important to get in touch with us immediately."

N.J. State Police are working with detectives from Staten Island in the ongoing investigation.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/body_found_in_new_jersey_belie.html

[mollybrown]

Jess' myspace page

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=137263138

[Grande]

http://www.myspace.com/jesstushxo

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Thank you Molly!

[Nut44x4]

Boyfriend is charged in death of woman found in Pinelands

JONATHAN CASIANO, STAR-LEDGER STAFF


The boyfriend of a Staten Island woman found buried in the Pine Barrens last week has been brought to New Jersey to face charges in connection with her death, authorities said.

Thomas Paolino, 19, of Staten Island, was arrested late Friday night and charged with desecration of a human body after New Jersey State Police found evidence linking him to the body of his girlfriend, 19-year-old Jessica Tush, said State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones.

Tush, a 2006 graduate of Staten Island's Susan Wagner High School, was last seen Wednesday at the BCBG clothing store in the Staten Island Mall, where she had worked for several months. She had told her parents she was going to a friend's wake later that afternoon but apparently never arrived at the funeral home. Her parents reported her missing the next day.

On Thursday morning, two people walking a dog through an isolated swath of state parkland in Bass River Township, Burlington County, came across "something suspicious" and phoned State Police, Jones said. Troopers arrived to discover a young female body, buried in a shallow, freshly dug grave amid the South Jersey pines. The body was later identified as the missing Staten Island teen.

An autopsy was conducted, and on Friday Tush's death was ruled a homicide by the Burlington County medical examiner. The cause of death has not been disclosed by authorities, but several reports have said she was strangled.

Paolino, who reportedly dated Tush for most of the past year, was brought into a Staten Island precinct house for questioning Friday by New York authorities. Later that night, members of the State Police Major Crimes Unit traveled across the river to arrest him, after detectives found evidence linking him to the body, Jones said.

Police would not say what evidence led to the charge against Paolino, but Jones said the State Police executed several search warrants in New Jersey before making the arrest.

An extradition hearing was scheduled for yesterday morning, but Paolino waived his extradition rights and was turned over to State Police. He was on his way to a South Jersey jail yesterday afternoon, Jones said.

Paolino has not been charged with murder, and the investigation into Tush's death and disappearance continues.

April 6, 2008
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:771195491&start=1

[TigressPen]

I'm glad a quick arrest was made in this case.

For Jessica::1222423:

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N.Y. man charged with desecrating body
By DONNA WEAVER Staff Writer, 609-978-2015
Published: Sunday, April 06, 2008

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The ex-boyfriend of a missing Staten Island woman whose body was found Thursday in a shallow grave in the pinelands is being held on charges of desecrating 19-year-old Jessica Tush's remains.

Thomas Paolino was arraigned Saturday morning in New York on the New Jersey charges and transported to the State Police barracks in Tuckerton, where he was processed and then transported to the Burlington County Jail, State Police Sgt. Steve Jones said Saturday evening.

No additional charges have been filed against Paolino, according to Jones.

Paolino's attorney Joseph Sorrentino said an arraignment or bail review might be held Monday at the Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly, but he was not sure if it had been scheduled yet.

The New York Daily News reported that Tush "put up a helluva fight" against her killer - perhaps enough to leave DNA on Paolino or her own body that could lead to a conviction.

Paolino, 19, was treated at a New York hospital for bites, bruises and scratches after his Friday night arrest, but he refused to tell police how he got hurt, according to a report by the New York Daily News. Sorrentino said he would not comment on the injuries to his client that were being reported.
Paolino is very upset, not only for himself but for this young girl and this tragedy, Sorrentino said.

"What does that even mean?" Tush's mother, Dina Tush, asked in a phone interview Saturday evening, when she learned of the desecration charges against Paolino.

She said she didn't know what to say about the idea that her daughter may have tried to fight her killer off. Dina Tush said Friday her daughter and Paolino had broken up just days before her disappearance.

"I was unaware of anything, but there are a lot of things parents don't see. There should have been warnings, his parents made it out that he was an angel," Dina Tush said. "I just thought my daughter was taken off the street, and I would have never thought this in a million years."

Dina Tush said when she reached out to Paolino's family for help in finding her daughter, after she didn't come home from a wake Wednesday, they were very arrogant.

"I called his parents and they acted like my daughter didn't matter and that she was a troublemaker and that maybe she was with another friend. I begged his mother to let me talk to him, but she wouldn't," Dina Tush said.

Paolino's parents did not return repeated calls for comment.

Tush was last seen at about 2 p.m. Wednesday when she left her job at the Staten Island Mall, where she worked as a sales associate at a clothing store. Tush was supposed to attend a wake for Andrew Clark, a young man from Tottenville, N.Y., who died in a car accident last weekend, her mother said. Tush's body was found in Tabernacle, Burlington County, about 30 miles from where Clark died.

But friends who attended Clark's wake told Tush's mother they did not see her. Tush says she is now uncertain whether her daughter ever made it to the wake.

Two dog walkers found Tush's body late Thursday morning off Route 679 near mile marker 7 in a heavily wooded section of Bass River Township, Burlington County, police said. The exact location where Tush's body was found would not be released because police did not want media in the area, Jones said.

An autopsy has been completed, according to Jones, and although Tush's death has been ruled a homicide, the manner in which she died is not being released, he said.

"I haven't seen my daughter's body yet, I plan on seeing it today. Right now it's like you're in a state of shock, but when you have to put your daughter in the ground, you know you'll never see her again," Dina Tush said, crying.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/125296.html

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Boyfriend Charged In Death Of Staten Island Teen
April 05, 2008

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A Staten Island man was charged Saturday in connection with the death of his estranged girlfriend whose body was found in New Jersey Thursday.

Thomas Paolino, 19, was arrested Friday night and charged with descreation of human remains in the killing of his ex-girlfriend Jessica Tush, 19.

"We waived extradition because quite frankly it makes no sense to delay matters here in New York," said Joseph Sorrentino, Paolino’s attorney. "We're anxious to get him over to New Jersey because quite frankly we're confident he is absolutely innocent and we need to fight these charges in New Jersey."

On Saturday afternoon, Tush's parents reacted to news Paolino's arrest.

“I'm happy that they found somebody, and I'll be happy when they convict somebody,” said Dina Tush, the mother of Jessica Tush.

Jessica Tush was last seen at the Staten Island Mall leaving her job on Wednesday afternoon. She had intended to attend the wake of AJ Clark, a Tottenville teenager who had been killed in a car crash the previous weekend.

“I was frantic because I knew she was supposed to leave at 2 p.m. and go to the wake and she never came home,” said Dina Tush.

Jessica Tush’s body was found in the same woods where Clark's car had crashed.

Tush’s mother and Clark’s father say the two had been acquainted but were not very close.

While both families continue to search for answers, Jessica Tush's parents say they are grateful for the outpouring of help and sympathy they have received from neighbors and police.

“My daughter was a beautiful girl, so - it's helped but it still hurts,” said Dina Tush.

Published reports say Tush appears to have been strangled. The medical examiner deemed her death a homicide.

Police sources tell the Daily News Tush came home with bruises on her body several days before she disappeared, and told her mother Paolino was to blame.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=11&aid=80179

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Slain girl's parents rage at killer
BY MIKE JACCARINO and CARRIE MELAGO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Monday, April 7th 2008, 4:00 AM

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The heartsick parents of slain Staten Island teen Jessica Tush said they hope her killer "burns in hell" after they saw her bruised and battered body for the first time.

"I wanted to see her, but I didn't want anybody to put any makeup on her. I wanted to see her for myself," her mom, Dina Tush, told the Daily News before breaking down in anguished sobs. "I wanted to see the wounds."

Jessica Tush, 19, was found in a shallow grave in the South Jersey Pine Barrens last week. Her ex-beau Thomas Paolino, also 19, is being held in connection with her death.

"He was so brutal. It was so brutal," she said, clinging to her husband, Victor, outside their Bay Terrace home. "I hope he burns in hell," she said.

"My baby was so beautiful," her husband joined in, saying the body barely resembled his daughter. "And look what he did to her."

Paolino is to appear in Burlington County Court today to face charges of desecration of human remains. Authorities are still investigating and have not charged Paolino with murder.

A 2006 graduate of Susan Wagner High School, Jessica left her job at the BCBG store at the Staten Island Mall on Wednesday to attend a friend's wake.

The former cheerleader studying fashion design at the Katharine Gibbs School never showed up, and she didn't return home that night, sending her mom and dad into a panic. Police sources have said Jessica was lured into a car by Paolino after work Wednesday with an offer to drive her to the wake.

Days before, she had broken off her relationship with him after he allegedly beat her up.

Witnesses spotted Paolino leaving the site in the Pine Barrens where her corpse was later found, sources said. He was arrested Friday and treated at a hospital for bites, bruises and scratches that authorities believe he sustained as Jessica fought for her life.

Paolino, a landscaper from an upscale Tottenville neighborhood on Staten Island, is expected to have his initial appearance before a judge in Burlington County Court tomorrow afternoon. Sgt. Stephen Jones of the New Jersey State Police said Paolino is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Paolino's lawyer did not return calls for comment Sunday.

Jessica's wake will be held today and tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Scalia Funeral Home in Eltingville, S.I. Her funeral will be held Wednesday at 9:45a.m. at the Church of St. Claire.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/04/07/2008-04-07_slain_girls_parents_rage_at_killer.html

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'Monster' boyfriend charged in girl's slay
BY OREN YANIV and ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Tuesday, April 8th 2008, 4:00 AM

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Thomas Paolino exits back of Staten Island Criminal Court to unmarked New Jersey police car.

The 19-year-old Staten Island teen arrested in the slaying of Jessica Tush was charged with her murder Monday - and it turns out he has a history of violence.

New Jersey State Police charged Thomas Paolino with strangling his former girlfriend and then dumping 19-year-old Tush's body in a hand-dug grave in a desolate stretch of New Jersey.

"We're going to face this monster head-on," said Tush's grieving father, Victor, outside his daughter's wake.

"We're going to be there for Jessica every step of the way. We want to make sure this monster is put away forever," he said.

The 2006 Wagner High School grad had broken off her tumultuous relationship with Paolino after he allegedly roughed her up, sources said.

Investigators believe the ex-beau lured Tush into his car last Wednesday with the promise of a ride to a friend's wake.

He may even have taken Tush to a roadside shrine in New Jersey, where the friend had died in a car crash.

Tush's strangled body was discovered Thursday morning in a nearby deserted stretch of New Jersey.

Police sources said witnesses spotted Paolino driving away from the grave.

Paolino was arrested Friday for allegedly dumping the body, but his bail was boosted to $1 million yesterday when he was charged with the murder.

The angry teen was already on a year's probation, and had served 15 days in jail for four run-ins with cops last year on Staten Island, sources said.

Last June he allegedly assaulted a Staten Island couple with a baseball bat and was caught with a gravity knife and a hunting knife in October, sources said.

He also was busted in January 2007 for possession of a set of brass knuckles and eight bags of marijuana, and again in March for vandalizing another man's car.

Paolino also allegedly stalked another ex-girlfriend who had given him the heave-ho, though no charges were filed, sources said.

That young woman called police in May, saying Paolino was harassing her on the phone.

When that tactic failed to win her back, Paolino repeatedly circled her high school in Tottenville in his car, the same one he allegedly used to take Tush to her death.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/04/08/2008-04-08_monster_boyfriend_charged_in_girls_slay.html

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No one could hear her scream
Teen's ex-boyfriend now charged with murdering her in remote N.J. location
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
By PETER N. SPENCER
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- He convinced her to skip a friend's wake Wednesday afternoon in Tottenville, and drove her to a roadside memorial in South Jersey.

The next morning -- after he had strangled her and buried her in desolate woodlands 100 miles from her home -- he left Jessica Tush with a makeshift memorial of her own, according to several law enforcement sources.

Those new details of the Great Kills teen's ill-fated detour emerged yesterday as her former boyfriend, 19-year-old Tottenville resident Thomas Paolino, was officially charged with her murder by New Jersey State Police. And authorities expect to reveal even more details of the slaying this afternoon, when Paolino is arraigned on the new charges in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly, N.J.

He is being held on $1 million bail.

"We still intend to vigorously defend him, while at the same time recognizing the great tragedy it is for the Tush family," said Paolino's Staten Island-based attorney, Joseph Sorrentino.

Ms. Tush had been missing since she left her job at BCBGMaxazria at the Staten Island Mall to attend the wake of Andrew J. Clark, a Tottenville teen-ager killed in a car crash. She never arrived at the wake.

The next time she was seen was inside a shallow grave in the woods of Bass River Township, at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Hikers spotted Paolino's Chevy Blazer driving away from the freshly dug site after he allegedly marked it with a sort of "makeshift memorial," according to Jack Smith, a spokesperson for the Burlington County prosecutor.

An autopsy revealed the Ms. Tush died of "asphyxia due to strangulation and sharp force injuries to the neck," Smith said.

Using E-ZPass records and cell phone tracking devices, New Jersey authorities created a timeline of Ms. Tush's final hours -- even down to the 15 minutes it took the two to travel from the Staten Island Mall to the New Jersey side of the Outerbridge Crossing, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Cell phone towers indicated Paolino and Ms. Tush left the Mall parking lot at around 2 p.m. The SUV was in Perth Amboy by 2:15 p.m. -- which did not leave Paolino enough time to kill Ms. Tush in New York, investigators concluded. They then drove about 72 miles south to Sooy Place Road in Tabernacle, N.J., to the site where Clark's car had struck a tree the previous weekend.

While visiting the memorial there, the two argued, and it escalated to a fierce physical confrontation, sources said. When Ms. Tush's body was discovered later, her face was filled with scratches and bruises. Paolino also had bites, bruises and scratches on his neck and body when he was questioned by police on Staten Island Thursday evening.

Police removed Paolino's clothes and searched his car for traces of blood and DNA, and were awaiting results of tests of skin that was taken from under Ms. Tush's nails.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1207656055254420.xml&coll=1

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Text message led to her ex
Police say Thomas Paolino's attempts to lead detectives in another direction put them on his trail
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
By JOHN ANNESE and PETER N. SPENCER
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- From the minute Thomas Paolino met with detectives to discuss his missing ex-girlfriend, sources said he tried to throw them off the trail.

Instead, he put them right on it.

That made him the prime suspect in the slaying of 19-year-old Jessica Tush.

Paolino, who's accused of strangling Ms. Tush and burying her in a shallow grave in New Jersey, asked investigators if they were looking into the "black guy" who supposedly was following her shortly before her disappearance, according to a source close to the investigation.

That remark immediately raised eyebrows -- one of Ms. Tush's female friends got a text message from her phone last Wednesday night that said, "A black man is following me."

And that friend sensed right away the message didn't actually come from Ms. Tush -- the text message addressed the friend by her full name, instead of using a nickname or an abbreviation, the source said.

Police believe Paolino sent the message to cover his tracks, after Ms. Tush was killed, the source said.

Prosecutors did not offer additional details of the murder yesterday morning during Paolino's first appearance in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly, N.J. -- which was made via video-conference from the nearby county jail.

Bail remained at $1 million.

In fact, Ms. Tush's name was never even mentioned during the 10-minute bail hearing.

Seen only from a monitor that faced Superior Court Judge Patricia LeBon, the 19-year-old Paolino stood silently in his bright, orange prison jumpsuit as the charges were read aloud.

Paolino's father looked on, and his mother and sister shed tears and clasped each other's hands during the brief proceeding in the small, round courtroom.

His bail on the murder and human desecration charges remained at $1 million, with no option to put down 10 percent cash.

In his brief statements to the judge, Burlington County Chief First Assistant Prosecutor Jim Ronca referred to the charge of second-degree desecration of human remains against Paolino, "as an attempt to conceal evidence," he said.

Ronca also detailed some of Paolino's criminal record, which included an open drug case in New Jersey, and five prior criminal cases here dating to 2005.

Four of those cases came last year, when Paolino served 15 days in jail and was put on probation, according to a law enforcement source. He was also arrested for assault, drug possession and vandalizing a neighbor's car, but in each case he was adjudicated as a youthful offender and the court files are sealed.

None of the cases involved Ms. Tush, said the source.

N.J. authorities continued to keep the case close to the vest. The Burlington County prosecutor took the unusual step of sealing the criminal complaint against Paolino, and declined comment after the hearing.

Paolino's next court appearance -- likely a formal arraignment on these charges -- could be a year away, as investigators continue to gather evidence to present to a grand jury.

Paolino's defense attorney, Joseph Sorrentino, said the charges filed Monday were summarized in "two sentences."

He told the judge the family was prepared to fight the murder charges and that Paolino would return to his home on Sylvan Court if he were "fortunate enough to make bail."

"We are, quite frankly, confident in his innocence," Sorrentino said.

The Paolino family refused comment afterward, as they hurried from the court and got into an SUV. TAIL Jonhn Annese and Peter Spencer are news reporters for the Advance, and they may be reached at annese@siadvance.com and spencer@siadvance.com.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/120774197748700.xml&coll=1

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Lovely Jessica laid to rest
St. Clare's awash with tears for slain teen who 'touched everyone she met'
Thursday, April 10, 2008
By PETER N. SPENCER
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The wails of an anguished mother echoed through the vaulted rotunda of St. Clare's R.C. Church in Great Kills yesterday as the draped coffin carrying Jessica Tush moved slowly to the nave.

The cries grew louder as Dina Tush made her way toward the altar, supported in the arms of her husband, Victor. The lament was swelled by the weeping of more than 100 mourners, who had come to the church to say goodbye to the 19-year-old Susan Wagner High School graduate.

Some of these same friends and family members had sent out desperate pleas in respect of Ms. Tush, who vanished after leaving her job at the Staten Island Mall. Their hopes that she would return home were dashed a day later by the discovery of her body in a shallow grave in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey.

Her former boyfriend, 19-year-old Tottenville resident Thomas Paolino, was charged Monday in New Jersey with strangling the young woman before dumping her body there.

In his eulogy, Ms. Tush's uncle, Mark Chintalan, tried to soothe the mourners' grief by recalling the Great Kills teen's "beautiful smile," vivacious spirit and generous nature. He described her as "always fashionable," "a hard worker" who "touched everyone she met," and "whose heart was in the right place, even when she did something wrong."

"She could be the classiest girl in the world one second, then the biggest doof the next, and you loved her for it," Chintalan said during his eulogy.

But Ms. Tush's gruesome slaying cast a shadow over those fond memories.

"There are certain people who come into your life and make a big impression on you," Chintalan said. "When they fall victim to a horrific accident, you feel cheated, but you understand. . . . When they are the victim of a brutal crime that some monster cruelly planned and carried out, you are left numb.

"She made us fall in love with her, but she left us too soon, with her story unfinished."

Deacon Rich Mitchell recalled the death of his own daughter.

"I can understand the sorrow of a parent. I can empathize, but I cannot feel your pain. . . . Not so long ago, I sat in that pew as my daughter was laid to rest," Mitchell said.

"When we know our child is going to someplace beautiful, someplace good, it eases the burden. Does it make sense to us in times like these? No," he continued.

After the funeral mass, six pallbearers hoisted the white casket and walked slowly toward the church doors. Mrs. Tush, still clinging to her husband, walked behind them, followed by a stream of mourners. Outside the church, she was overcome, watching her child's body being placed into the waiting hearse.

The cortege made its way along Hylan Boulevard to Resurrection Cemetery in Pleasant Plains. The coffin was placed above the grave near a flowering cherry tree, and amid arrangements of pink, white and yellow flowers. The mourners stood in a circle as the last rites were read, then recited the Lord's Prayer.

Each placed a single red rose on Ms. Tush's coffin, then slowly moved toward their cars, leaving Jessica's parents alone with their daughter.

Hand-in-hand, they stood silently for a moment. Then each kissed a hand, then simultaneously touched those hands to the sides of the casket -- one last kiss for Jessica before they walked away.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1207827903252590.xml&coll=1

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Slay suspect could be free for months
Bail would be unlikely if case were brought on Island rather than in Jersey, records show
Thursday, April 10, 2008
By JOHN ANNESE and PETER N. SPENCER
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Had Jessica Tush been killed on Staten Island instead of in New Jersey, the man charged with her slaying almost certainly would wait for his trial behind bars.

But because he's accused of committing the crime in New Jersey, Thomas Paolino could spend the next year in his Tottenville home -- if he makes the $1 million bail set against him.

Several lawyers and sources close to the criminal justice system on Staten Island told the Advance they were hard-pressed to recall a case in the last several years in which a murder suspect wasn't held without bail.

But with the way criminal procedures go in New Jersey, Paolino likely won't be due back in a courtroom for up to a year as investigators slowly gather evidence against him to bring to a grand jury.

That's more than enough time for his family to post bond and bring him back home.

Paolino, 19, is accused of strangling Ms. Tush, also 19 and from Tottenville, on April 2 and burying her body in the New Jersey woods.

He has fast become the focus of an outpouring of wrath in conversations on the Island and over the Internet since his arrest.

But one law enforcement official here doubted Paolino would live in constant fear of retribution if he's released on bail "just because a bunch of guys are sitting behind their computers, being Internet tough guys."

"If you went by what was said on the Internet, every one of our sex offenders would be in protective custody," the official said.

Still, had Paolino been charged on Staten Island, chances are he would be sitting in a cell at Rikers Island, with no prospect of freedom until his case was resolved.

POLITICS PLAYS ROLE

"Not, 'Chances are.' He definitely would have been remanded," said defense lawyer Mark J. Fonte. "Judges are fearful of being second-guessed, and the safest course of action is to remand," Fonte said. Politics plays a large role in that decision, the attorney said, because unlike New Jersey, judges and prosecutors here are elected, not appointed.

Court records show that every suspect currently facing murder charges on Staten Island is being held without bail, according to William J. Smith, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

And for the most part, that's the way it has been for some time, according to most local legal experts.

"I believe that's absolutely unfair," Fonte said. "Everyone charged with a crime, including homicide cases, should have bail set."

Only a couple of past murder cases here stand out in recent memory where the suspect was released on bail.

In 2000, a judge ordered Elena Kiejliches of Todt Hill held on $250,000 bail after she was charged with killing her husband. Mrs. Kiejliches, who had two children, made bail, and was later convicted at trial and sentenced to 22 years to life in prison.

That same year, a 13-year-old Concord girl who killed her newborn was ordered released on her own recognizance before her manslaughter case was deferred to Family Court, according to Mario Gallucci, her defense attorney.

Gallucci -- who's representing Janet Redmond-Mercereau, the Oakwood woman accused of shooting her fire marshal husband in the head -- echoed Fonte's sentiments about remanding suspects.

By law, the purpose of bail is to ensure a defendant shows up in court.

But judges here are afraid they'll be put on the hot seat if a murder suspect kills again after being released, Gallucci said.

CONSIDER 1 FACTOR

"Most judges do not take into consideration any factor, except it's a murder charge," Gallucci said. He said he plans to ask the court to reconsider bail at Mrs. Redmond-Mercereau's next court hearing.

"There was no person more deserving of bail than her," Gallucci said, pointing out that Mrs. Redmond-Mercereau didn't flee the jurisdiction during the three months it took for prosecutors to build a grand jury case against her.

In New Jersey court cases, a formal arraignment on such charges typically can take anywhere from eight months to a year.

Regular grand juries in New Jersey meet for 18 months, and can be extended 24 months, while special grand juries, which are usually assembled for organized crime cases, sit for up to 36 months.

By contrast, in New York, once a suspect is ordered held on bail in a felony case, the prosecution must generally secure a grand jury indictment within six days, or else the suspect will be released without bail. If the suspect makes bail, the prosecution has six months to get an indictment.

On Staten Island, prosecutors ask for remand because "generally speaking, when somebody's locked up for murder in this jurisdiction, there's usually good reason for it," said former District Attorney William L. Murphy. "People can travel around the world today without a great deal of facility. It's not difficult, if you get out, to disappear for a while."

Murphy dismissed the notion that Paolino may be at risk himself if he's freed, saying he's never heard someone voice concerns like those in open court when arguing for bail.

"That's more of the stuff of television than it is of real life," Murphy said. "Go watch 'Law & Order' if you want to see that plot."

John Annese and Peter N. Spencer are news reporters for the Advance. They may be reached at annese@siadvance.com.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1207827905252590.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

[Grande]

Staten Island girl's dad fumes as her alleged killer may get bail
BY CAITLIN MILLAT, ALISON GENDAR and CARRIE MELAGO
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Sunday, April 13th 2008, 4:00 AM

The father of slain Staten Island teen Jessica Tush was infuriated to learn Saturday that her accused killer was poised to be released on $1 million bail.

"If he did it, he needs to stay behind bars," Victor Tush told the Daily News. "No monster like him should be out on the street."

The family of Thomas Paolino, 19, put in paperwork late Friday to post his $1 million bail, but as of yesterday afternoon, he was still being held at the Burlington County jail in Mount Holly, N.J.

Paolino was charged with murder for allegedly strangling former cheerleader Jessica Tush, 19, a Wagner High School graduate. He then dumped her corpse in a hand-dug grave in New Jersey, police said.

On Tuesday, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Patricia LaBon stipulated that if Paolino's parents posted bail, the teen would have to call authorities every Monday from his parents' tony home in Tottenville.

Victor Tush was disgusted by the idea of Paolino being released.

"If he's the guy that did it, he should never get out, not in a million years," the father said.

Paolino and Tush had broken off their tumultuous relationship just days before she was killed after Paolino beat Tush during a fight, according to the victim's family.

Paolino, who works for his father's landscaping business, allegedly picked Tush up from her job at BCBG in the Staten Island Mall on April 2, promising to take her to a friend's wake.

Tush never showed up at the wake that day, and her parents became panicked when she didn't return to their Staten Island home that night.

Hikers found her strangled body the next day in New Jersey's Pine Barrens. Paolino was charged with the murder on April 4 when E-ZPass and other records placed him near where Tush's body was found. He also was unable to explain scratches on his body, police said.

Sources said Paolino has prior arrests. He allegedly assaulted a Staten Island couple in June with a baseball bat and was caught with an illegal gravity knife and hunting knife in October. He also was busted in January for possession of brass knuckles and in March for vandalizing a car.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/04/13/2008-04-13_staten_island_girls_dad_fumes_as_her_all.html

[Roamer]

Hasn't he been slapped on the wrist often enough??? This murderer will run so far and so fast they'll never find him again. :mad:

[KittyMom]

That little creep better enjoy his freedom out on bail. Once he's convicted and gets into general population, that attempt to throw LE off his trail will make him the most popular piece of white meat in the state of NJ.

[KittyMom]

Such a shame that Jessica's mom saw her. She should remember how she looked before being attacked.

[Grande]

Words become weapons against murder suspect
Grieving mother and her allies marshal arguments for his indictment in Jersey
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
By FRANK DONNELLY
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- How do you put the loss of your beautiful teenage daughter into words?

How do you open your vault of private memories and special moments and let a stranger walk inside?

With every heartbreaking stroke of her computer keyboard, Great Kills resident Dina Tush is trying to tell officials in Burlington County, N.J., just how much her daughter, Jessica, meant to her.

Mrs. Tush is composing a victim impact statement as sources yesterday told the Advance a grand jury is set to hear evidence this week against Jessica Tush's alleged killer, Tottenville resident Thomas Paolino.

About 50 friends and relatives are writing similar letters to the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy in the Burlington County prosecutor's office.

Mrs. Tush hopes the candid and emotional testimonies will give prosecutors even more reason to secure an indictment and conviction against her 19-year-old daughter's alleged slayer, her former boy friend. Paolino, who had not yet been indicted, remains locked up on $1.2 million in the Burlington County jail, authorities confirmed yesterday.

"It's been hard on us," Mrs. Tush, her voice cracking, said yesterday in a telephone interview. "There's so many questions we have. I just put my faith that [prosecutors] are going to do the right thing by us. I want to make sure [Paolino] gets life without parole. I never want to see his face again."

'HURTS TOO MUCH'

She declined to show the Advance a copy of her statement, saying it was very personal.

"It hurts too much," she said.

The Office of Victim Witness Advocacy serves as a link between prosecutors and victims' families and also provides support services.

Paolino, then 19, is accused of strangling Jessica Tush and putting her into a shallow grave in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey.

Hikers found the gravesite around 9:30 a.m. on April 3 in Wharton State Forest, in Bass River Township, about 100 miles south of Staten Island. They allegedly spotted Paolino's sport utility vehicle fleeing the scene.

Police believe Paolino picked up Ms. Tush from her job at a clothing store in the Staten Island Mall on the afternoon of April 2. He convinced her to visit a makeshift memorial in Burlington County for a friend who had died in a car crash days earlier.

Ms. Tush was supposed to attend that friend's wake in Tottenville, and when she didn't show up, her new boyfriend started wondering why, sources close to the investigation told the Advance in April.

TEXT MESSAGES

She and the new boyfriend swapped text messages, and investigators believe those messages may have sparked a murderous rage in Paolino.

In New Jersey court cases, a formal grand jury arraignment on murder charges can take anywhere from eight months to a year as prosecutors gather evidence and build a case.

Sources told the Advance a grand jury is hearing evidence this week against Paolino and could reach a decision in the next week or two. Joel Bewley, a spokesman for the Burlington County prosecutor's office, declined comment yesterday, saying the office does not discuss details of grand jury proceedings.

Paolino's lawyer James Fagen of Freehold, N.J., said yesterday he was unaware of any grand jury proceedings but added defense lawyers are "rarely" apprised of them while they are under way.

Mrs. Tush said her daughter's death has been a blow to many.

One of three siblings, the Susan Wagner High School graduate was a popular go-getter. That's why so many friends and relatives volunteered to submit letters to the Office of Victim Witness Advocacy. And though the writings will not be revealed to the grand jury, prosecutors should see them, she said.

"It's not just impacting us. It's impacting the whole community," Mrs. Tush said. "I would do anything to keep [Paolino] in jail."

Frank Donnelly is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at fdonnelly@siadvance.com.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1221048009134730.xml&coll=1

[Grande]

Staten Island teen indicted in ex-girl friend's murder
by Staten Island Advance
Thursday September 18, 2008, 1:24 PM

http://i38.tinypic.com/4i8zk.jpg
Thomas Paolino, 19, was indicted on murder charges today by a New Jersey judge stemming from the slaying of Jessica Tush almost six months ago. He faces up 95 years in prison.

Dina Tush got finally got the news she wanted to hear, yet dreaded, at the same time.

The Staten Island teen-ager accused of strangling her daughter, Jessica Tush, 19, almost six months ago and putting her in a shallow grave in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey was indicted for murder by a Burlington County, N.J. grand jury earlier today.

Thomas Paolino, also 19, faces up to 95 years behind bars on charges of first-degree murder, desecrating human remains and other crimes, said Robert D. Bernardi, the Burlington County prosecutor.

"It's a relief, but it's kind of bittersweet," Mrs. Tush, of Great Kills, said today, choking back tears in a brief telephone interview. "We're glad he's getting [charged with] the maximum, but we're never going to see my daughter again. Our main concern is that he won't be getting out [of jail]. My daughter's never coming home, and he should never go home.

Paolino is being held in the Burlington County Jail on $1.2 million bail.

He is expected to be arraigned on the indictment charges in the near future, Bernardi said. A date has not been set.

Paolino denies the allegations, said Stapleton criminal defense lawyer Louis E. Diamond, who is representing the defendant along with James Fagen of Freehold, N.J.

"One of the big issues here is going to be forensics," said Diamond. "The burden is on prosecutors to prove there's a murder that occurred in New Jersey."

Diamond said his client was arrested in New York solely on a desecration charge and extradited to New Jersey.

Prosecutors believe Paolino strangled Ms. Tush, his former girl friend, after becoming enraged during an argument, then buried her remains.

Hikers found the gravesite around 9:30 a.m. on April 3 in Wharton State Forest, in Washington Township, about 100 miles south of Staten Island. They allegedly spotted Paolino's sport utility vehicle fleeing the scene.

A friend of Ms. Tush and Paolino previously told the Advance that the two had camped at least twice in Wharton State Forest.

Police believe Paolino picked up Ms. Tush from her job at a clothing store in the Staten Island Mall on the afternoon of April 2. He convinced her to visit a makeshift memorial in Tabernacle, N.J., Burlington County for her friend who had died in a car crash days earlier. Tabernacle is about 35 miles from Wharton State Forest.

Ms. Tush was supposed to attend a wake in Tottenville that evening, and when she didn't show up, a male friend started wondering why, sources close to the investigation told the Advance in April.

She and the friend swapped text messages, and investigators believe those messages may have sparked a murderous rage in Paolino that led to a fierce -- and deadly struggle. Ms. Tush and Paolino had broken up just days before her slaying, police said.

Authorities believe Paolino tried to cover his tracks after the slaying by sending a text message from her phone to a female friend of hers on the night of April 2. The message said, "A black man is following me."

When recovered, Ms. Tush's body was filled with scratches and bruises, said cops. Paolino had bites, bruises and scratches on his neck and body when police questioned him at his Staten Island home on April 3.

Cops scoured his car and clothing for traces of blood and DNA and also checked skin cells found under Ms. Tush's fingerprints. A spokesman for Bernardi declined to discuss any related findings.

An autopsy determined Ms. Tush died of "asphyxia due to strangulation and sharp-force injuries to the neck," authorities said.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/staten_island_teen_indicted_in.html

[Amusedtdth]

My heart goes out to this young womans family. No parent should live this tragedy...The pine barrens, a long standing joke in NJ mainly due to the fact that it is a reputed "buriel ground" the mafia uses quite frequently due to its density of forest growth and few people venture into it...

[Grande]

N.Y. man enters plea in Pinelands murder case
By MELISSA HAYES
Burlington County Times

MOUNT HOLLY — A Staten Island man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges he murdered his ex-girlfriend and then buried her in Wharton State Forest in April.

A grand jury returned a fivecount indictment against Thomas Paolino, 19, in September, charging him with first-degree murder, desecrating human remains, theft by unlawful taking, unlawful taking, unlawful theft or receipt of a credit card and hindering apprehension.

He issued his plea before Superior Court Judge Thomas Smith and is scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 15.

Paolino is being held in Burlington County Jail in lieu of $1.2 million bail.

He is charged with the murder of Jessica Tush, 19, also of Staten Island.

On April 3, hikers found Tush’s body in a shallow grave in a wooded area off Route 563 in Washington Township. The girl had been missing since the previous afternoon when she left work at a Staten Island mall.

An autopsy revealed Tush was strangled and suffered sharp force injuries to the neck.

Tush’s friends and family notified police she was missing after she didn’t show up for a friend’s viewing. That friend, Andrew Clark, also a 19-year-old resident of Staten Island, was killed March 29 in a two-vehicle accident on Sooy Place Road in Woodland.

Clark was in the county because his girlfriend lived in Tabernacle.

Clark’s family said previously that a restraining order prohibited Paolino from attending the funeral services, so Paolino convinced Tush to travel to a roadside memorial in Woodland.

Paolino is suspected of strangling Tush somewhere in Burlington County and burying her in a shallow grave.

October 28, 2008 8:09 AM

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-10282008-1612143.html

[Lolina]

Tuesday, October 28, 2008
By JOHN ANNESE
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J. -- Thomas Paolino appeared in court for only a couple of minutes yesterday, but that was long enough to bring to tears the mother of the young woman he's accused of strangling.

The slim, wiry Paolino, dressed in a bright orange jail jumpsuit, was led into a small, circular courtroom on the sixth floor of the Burlington County Court complex yesterday morning.
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He stood quietly as he was formally arraigned on murder and other charges, then, after his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf, he was led back out again, pausing only to look back at three men sitting in the front row of the courtroom.

It was the 19-year-old's first court appearance since April, when he was arrested on charges he lured his ex-girlfriend, 19-year-old Jessica Tush, to the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, then strangled her and buried her in a shallow grave. Paolino is being held on $1.2 million bail.

Ms. Tush's mother, Dina, sat in the courtroom during the proceedings. She erupted into tears afterwards, sobbing on the shoulder of her husband, Victor, during a brief elevator ride to the Burlington County prosecutor's office.

Ms. Tush later declined comment.

The three men whom Paolino glanced back at -- one of them waved at him before he left -- twice denied knowing him at all even as they met with his defense lawyer, former prosecutor James Fagen.

"I don't have a comment to make," Fagen said after the arraignment.

Fagen, a former Assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, in two separate trials in 1983 and 1989 convinced a jury to hand down the death penalty to Robert Biegenwald, a Staten Island native known as the "Thrill Killer." Biegenwald's death sentence was twice overturned on appeal, and he died this March at age 67 in a New Jersey hospital.

Paolino is expected to return to court on Dec. 15 for a status conference. He stands to face up to 95 years in prison if convicted at trial.

He faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree desecrating human remains, third-degree theft by unlawful taking, third-degree hindering apprehension and fourth-degree unlawful theft or receipt of credit card.

Police believe Paolino picked up Ms. Tush at the Staten Island Mall on April 2 and convinced her to visit a makeshift memorial in Burlington County for a friend who had died in a car crash days earlier.

Ms. Tush was supposed to attend that friend's wake in Tottenville, and when she didn't show up, her new boyfriend started wondering why, sources close to the investigation told the Advance in April.

She and the new boyfriend swapped text messages, and investigators believe those messages may have kindled a murderous rage in Paolino.

Authorities believe Paolino tried to cover his tracks after the killing by sending a text message from her phone to one of her female friends on the night of April 2. The message read, "A black man is following me."

When her body was found, Ms. Tush's face was covered with scratches and bruises, said cops. Paolino had bites, bruises and scratches on his neck and body when police questioned him at his Staten Island home on April 3.

John Annese is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at annese@siadvance.com.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1225196124141440.xml&coll=1

[Lolina]

http://blog.silive.com/latest_news/2008/04/04-09-staten-island-funeral2.jpg
A photo from Jessica's funeral on Staten Island.

This is the link to the Jessica Tush online tribute at Respectance.com:
http://respectance.com/JessicaTush.