A Killer Confesses and Denies

Zarinsky's death came as he was nearing trial for the 1968 murder of 13-year-old Jane Durrua of Keansburg. He consistently denied committing the murder, and only in recent years, in his bid for early parole, admitted killing Calandriello. Then, he claimed, she died when he accidentally backed over her with his car.

A Dec. 10 hearing was scheduled in Superior Court in Monmouth County in which the prosecutor's office was seeking the court's permission to use testimony about Zarinsky's alleged attempts to lure four other Monmouth County teenagers into his car to buttress the Durrua case. Those alleged incidents took place nine months after Durrua's death.

Authorities also believe Zarinsky had a long list of victims, most of them teenage girls. Among the unsolved murders for which he was a suspect are that of Linda Balabanow, 17, of Union in 1969, and Joanne Delardo, 15, and Doreen Carlucci, 14, of Woodbridge in 1974.

Obviously, confession isn't good for the soul. It's too bad some sort of deal couldn't have been struck between the killer and the prosecution to give the Durrua family some everlasting peace. Offer him a day of freedom in exchange for an accurate confession!

Now that Zarinsky is dead, how long with the authorities wait before assigning the deaths of Durrua, Balabanow, Delardo and Carlucci to him anyway?