Fugitive wanted for alleged role in dismembering Toms River man found in Marlboro

TOMS RIVER — A fugitive wanted for his alleged role in dismembering the body of a local homeowner has been taken into custody in Marlboro, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer on Tuesday night.

Jared Krysiak, 34, of Brick, was charged Saturday with hindering apprehension and with the desecration of human remains following two murders that occurred in Toms River and Jackson on July 3, Billhimer said.

During an investigation into the June 27 fatal shooting in Manchester of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, detectives discovered evidence that a related murder may have occurred at a Ravenwood Drive home in Toms River.

Maxwell Johnston, who was the suspect in the Caroleo murder, had made the Ravenwood Drive house his hideout before his whereabouts were discovered by authorities on July 5. A violent standoff with police ensued for six hours before Johnston shot and killed himself.

Acting on information that evidence of the second murder could be found at a property on Toms River Road in Jackson, officers from a host of law enforcement agencies, including K-9 units, descended on the location Friday and discovered “numerous body parts in black bags, along with additional evidence connected to the murder,” Billhimer has said.

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That same day, detectives also searched the Ravenwood Drive home where Johnston had barricaded himself a few days later. They found a defaced .22-caliber handgun and other evidence that the second murder was committed at that residence, the prosecutor said.

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During a post-mortem examination of the body parts Saturday, the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the second victim as Kerry Rollason, 56, the owner of the Ravenwood Drive home. The medical examiner determined Rollason’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and blunt-force trauma. The death was ruled a homicide.

The investigation led to evidence that Johnston killed Rollason about two days before he committed suicide during the standoff at Rollason’s home, Billhimer said.

Investigators determined that the gun found in Rollason’s home belonged to Elizabeth Mascarelli, 29, of Seaside Heights, who was charged with harboring a fugitive for allegedly sheltering Johnston there. She surrendered to SWAT teams before the standoff ended on July 5.

As the investigation continued, detectives learned that Mascarelli and two others -- Danielle Bolstad, 42, of Barnegat, and Krysiak -- helped Johnston dismember Rollason’s body, and that the same trio, along with Jarred Palumbo, 36, of Manchester, helped Johnston dispose of the body parts in Jackson, the prosecutor said.

Palumbo was arrested Friday and charged with hindering apprehension and desecrating human remains. He was issued a summons and released pending an upcoming court appearance.

Bolstad, facing the same charges, was arrested Sunday and taken to the Ocean County Jail to await a hearing to determine if she will continue to be detained pending trial.

Mascarelli, already in jail on the harboring charge, was served Monday with the additional charges of hindering apprehension, desecration of human remains, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a defaced firearm.

Krysiak remained at large until Tuesday. He was apprehended by detectives from the Major Crime Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office and officers from the Toms River Township Police Department.

Krysiak has been taken to the Ocean County Jail where he will remain pending a detention hearing of his own, Billhimer said.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Fugitive wanted for alleged role in dismembering Toms River man found in Marlboro