The Murder of Rachel Siani
Warning, this case does discuss the topic of possible suicide.
For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 13 episode 7, titled ‘Last Dance.’
A young college student is found dead under a bridge.
Background
Rachel Siani was born on April 18, 1978. She was only 21-years-old at the time of her death. At the time, she was attending college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She was studying psychology, and wanted to help people.
Rachel worked at Divas International Gentleman’s Club at night under the name Roxanne, to pay for her college bills. While her family didn’t approve of her job, Rachel told them it was only temporary.
Rachel Siani
The last photo of Rachel taken on the night she died.
The Discovery
On April 1, 2000, an ATV rider was out on a ride when he came across something. It was the body of a young woman underneath a bridge in Burlington Township, New Jersey, about 3 miles from Divas. The woman was described as being in her 20-30s, and wearing a butterfly necklace.
The police put out a description of the young woman. An ex-boyfriend of Rachel’s contacted them, and said the necklace belonged to Rachel Siani.
Rachel had been found wearing a white sweater, jeans, and clean socks. She had some blood on the side of her face, and had two broken fingernails from trying to fight back.
The medical examiner ruled Rachel’s cause of death as blunt force trauma. There was a lot of internal bleeding, leading them to believe Rachel was alive when she was thrown off the bridge.
The police had originally thought that it was a suicide. However, white fibers were found on the bridge from Rachel’s sweater. Rachel’s blood was also found on the outside wall of the bridge. Her socks had been clean, which was unusual because there was so much debris on the ground. The police knew that Rachel had been carried, and thrown to the ground below.
The Prime Suspect
The police spoke to other dancers at the club. They revealed that a former cook named Jason, had been infatuated with Rachel. He had been fired just a month earlier due to this infatuation. Jason was eventually ruled out as a suspect, but he did seem to want people to believe he and Rachel were an item.
The next tip came from one of Rachel’s friends. This friend had been talking with Rachel outside the club on the night she died. The friend said they were talking when a drunk man returned to the club and began banging on the doors. A police officer was in the area, but the manager of the club said it was fine as the man was a club regular named John ‘Jack’ Denofa.
He was referred to in the episode as Jack, so I will refer to him as that. Jack was a married businessman, and a regular at Divas on Tuesday nights. Jack’s favorite dancer was Rachel, and he would often pay her to just sit and talk with him. Rachel thought he was harmless and just lonely.
Rachel even offered to walk Jack to a motel next door. On the night she died, Jack checked into room 223. The hotel clerk told the police that they saw Rachel walk Jack to his room, but never saw her leave.
The Evidence
The police brought Jack in for questioning. Jack said he last saw Rachel in the early morning hours on March 29, but that she never came into his hotel room.
This wasn’t the first time Jack had stayed at this motel. He had a previous arrest for a DUI, and often stayed at the motel when he had too much to drink.
Four days after Jack stayed in room 223, the police went to search the room. The room had already been cleaned several times. Despite the room having been cleaned, the police found some white fibers and a small amount of blood in the shower. The fibers and blood were tested, but the fibers weren't a match to the fibers from Rachel’s sweater. The blood swab was too small, and DNA couldn’t be detected.
On Jack’s registration card from the motel, it listed his 1996 red Dodge truck. The police had a hunch that if Jack was the killer, he would be on the surveillance footage from the toll booth. They were right.
Around 3:12am, a red truck was seen driving through the toll booth. There was something in the bed of the truck. It looked like Rachel in the clothes that she was found in. About 25 minutes later, the truck drives back towards the motel with nothing in the bed of his truck.
The police couldn’t see the license plate, but had probable cause to search the truck. The truck had clearly been cleaned, but the police did find blood on the plastic lining in the back of the truck. The blood in the truck was Rachel’s.
The police were also able to find Rachel’s blood on the sidewalk below room 223. They had spoken to the guest that had been staying right below Jack on the night of March 29. The guest said that he heard a loud bang coming from outside in the middle of the night, but didn’t get up to investigate. It’s believed that he heard Rachel hitting the pavement.
The Conviction
It’s believed that Jack went to the club for his usual Tuesday night routine. He became intoxicated, and returned to the club after closing. Rachel was outside the club, and offered to walk Jack to his motel. While they were in the motel, Jack maybe made advances towards her, which she rejected. Jack then choked Rachel, and put her on the window awning thinking she was dead. When she fell, Jack went outside and loaded her into his truck. Rachel was then driven to the bridge, and left to die a horrible death.
In November 2002, John ‘Jack’ Denofa was found guilty of first degree murder. He was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
Jack has maintained his innocence, and said someone else could’ve taken his car keys, and committed the murder.
John ‘Jack’ Denofa
FINAL THOUGHTS
Rachel was more than an exotic dancer. She was a daughter, cousin, and friend. She was a college student who was very close to getting her associate’s degree. It’s so sad that she was taken away by a man who thought she would become interested in him if he kept paying her. He then left her to die in a horrific way. Ugh, it’s so sad, and my heart breaks for her family. Jack deserves to rot for the rest of his miserable life.
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5484261/rachel-elizabeth-siani
https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/tag/rachel-siani/
https://www.forensicfilesfiles.com/rachel-siani-murder-by-jack-denofa.php
https://thecinemaholic.com/rachel-siani-murder-where-is-john-denofa-now/
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nj-supreme-court/1101897.html
