'Depraved and soulless': Cops investigating woman's murder discover man's dismembered remains stuffed in black bags

Maxwell Johnston murdered his girlfriend Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester Township, New Jersey, on June 27 and Kerry Rollaso on July 3. Johnston died by suicide as cops were closing in on him. (Mug shot: Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office; Screenshot: WPVI/YouTube)

Prosecutors in New Jersey say they believe a man found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier this month committed two separate murders and enlisted the help of four people to chop up one of the bodies.

The Ocean County Prosecutors Office said in a press release that 35-year-old Maxwell Johnston murdered Gabriella Caroleo, 25, in Manchester Township on June 27. Cops identified him as a suspect and tracked him to a home on Ravenwood Drive in Toms River on July 5. Along with U.S. Marshals, local cops went to the home to arrest Johnston. During the apprehension, police found there were four other people in the home along with Johnston: Elizabeth Mascarelli, 29, Danielle Bolstad, 42, Jared Krysiak, 34, and Jarred Palumbo, 36.

Bolstad, Krysiak and Palumbo came out of the home without incident, but an armed Johnston refused to come out with Mascarelli, prosecutors said. Cops got Mascarelli out of the home after several hours. A police drone found Johnston dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to prosecutors. First responders took Mascarelli to the hospital for injuries she sustained during the standoff.

An investigation showed Mascarelli had harbored Johnston in the Ravenwood Drive home for four days despite knowing he had committed the murder, prosecutors said. They charged her with harboring a fugitive. Cops also discovered a murder may have been committed in the home on July 3 and a body may be at another property in Jackson Township. On July 12, police went to that property and found “numerous body parts in black bags along with additional evidence connected to the murder,” prosecutors said. A search of the Ravenwood Drive home turned up a “defaced” .22 caliber handgun and “additional evidence” of a murder.

The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the dismembered remains as belonging to 56-year-old Kerry Rollason — the owner of the Ravenwood Drive home. The ME concluded Rollason was shot multiple times and was beaten to death before being dismembered, prosecutors said. Detectives believe Johnson shot and beat Rollason and then had Mascarelli, Bolstad, Krysiak and Palumbo help him dismember the body and dispose of it at the Jackson Township property.

Mascarelli, Bolstad, Krysiak and Palumbo are charged with hindering apprehension and desecration of human remains. Mascarelli also faces weapons charges. Police arrested Bolstad and Palumbo over the last couple of days while Krysiak is on the lam, per prosecutors.

“The crimes committed against Mr. Rollason are unsettling and disturbing. I am thankful for the law enforcement professionals that worked diligently to uncover these depraved and soulless crimes,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement.

A motive for Rollason’s killing is unclear. Caroleo’s family told WACP that she and Johnston were dating and he had been abusive. Caroleo called her family hours before her murder to tell them she was in danger, her mother told the outlet. Caroleo was the mother to a 3-year-old.

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