Human Wreckage: A 7-Year-Old's Life Stolen in Elizabeth, NJ: Murder of Wendy Wollin

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It was a crime that shook the nation to the very
core and it remains unsolvedtoday.
On the 8th of March 1966,7-year-old Wendy Wallen and her
mother, shirley, left theirPierce Manor apartment in
Elizabeth, new Jersey, to runsome errands and pick up Wendy's
older sister, jody, from Hebrewschool.
Shirley told Wendy to meet herat Irvington Avenue and Price

(00:21):
Street, which was one of thebusiest intersections in the
industrial community.
While she went and retrievedthe car from the parking lot
behind the apartment, it wasbroad daylight and Wendy stood
waiting for her mother near thefire department headquarters.
What happened next is trulyunfathomable.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage.
If you like what I do, pleaselike and subscribe.

(00:42):
In this episode we look at theunsolved case of Wendy Wallen.
What kind of monster would takethe life of a 7-year-old child
for no reason?
Let's get into it.
A?

(01:27):
A man approached Wendy from theopposite direction.
He was wearing a three-quarterlength green corduroy coat, dark
trousers and a felt hat.
He walked rapidly towards Wendy.
As he got close, he bent lowand thrust a hunting knife
through her coat deep into herabdomen.
Wendy staggered and cried outin pain as the man continued on
his way as if nothing hadhappened.

(01:48):
Three little girls who hadwitnessed the entire ordeal, ran
into the fire departmentheadquarters and told director
Edward F Dana what had happened.
He rushed to Wendy's side whereshe cried out.
He punched me, assuming thatWendy had just been punched.
He helped her up and led herinto the fire department
headquarters, sat her down andhad a dispatcher bring her a

(02:08):
glass of water.
Police arrived shortlythereafter.
Sergeant Frederick Grimm andPatrolman Peter Melschen helped
loosen Wendy's coat, and it wasat this moment that it was
finally noticed that there was apatch of blood on her right
side.
Wendy was rushed to ElizabethGeneral Hospital and carried
into the emergency room, where ateam of six doctors worked
tirelessly to save her life, butto no avail.

(02:31):
Wendy died of shock andhemorrhage shortly before 5 pm.
An autopsy would show thatWendy had been stabbed by a
sharp knife that had penetratedher ribs and lacerated her liver
.
At the crime scene,investigators discovered a
hunting knife and deduced thatit was the murder weapon.
A search party for the childkiller was immediately launched.
The three witnesses describedhim as being around six feet

(02:54):
tall and weighing around 220pounds.
He was white and around 45 to50 years old, with gray hair and
a slight limp.
Over 1,500 men were questionedover the forthcoming months.
Prisoners and patients inpsychiatric institutes were
questioned and a troop shipheading for Vietnam was docked
and searched.
Door-to-door searches wereimmediately conducted and trains

(03:16):
and buses were boarded andsearched.
A special phone line wasinstalled to handle the
thousands of tips that poured infrom potential eyewitnesses and
concerned citizens.
Wanted posters blanketed thecity and copies were sent to
every police department in thenation.
The search was unfruitful.
The killer was nowhere to beseen.
The brutal and senseless murderrocked the community,

(03:38):
particularly parents who, in theaftermath, refused to let their
children out of their sight.
Oh, it definitely changed,elizabeth, said Charlie Williams
.
Yes, it did.
It was always a quiet community.
Who would ever suspect thatsomething like this would happen
in Elizabeth at that time?
Wendy was laid to rest on the9th of March 1966.
Her funeral was held in TempleB'nai, israel, and she was

(04:01):
subsequently buried in BethIsrael Cemetery in Woodbridge.
Early on in the investigation,it was speculated that the
killer was the same man who hadattacked two other girls earlier
on in the day.
Ten-year-old Patricia Lovealphad been wounded in the buttocks
by a man with a sharp object.
She was rushed to ElizabethGeneral Hospital where she made
a full recovery.

(04:21):
Forty-five minutes before thisattack, 12-year-old Diana
DeNicola had been punched in theface by a man while standing in
front of a department store.
She too was taken to ElizabethGeneral Hospital to be treated
for a bruised right cheek andeyelid.
Over the forthcoming years therewere numerous suspects and each
lead and tip was thoroughlyinvestigated.
Investigators had kept the caseopen and active in the hopes

(04:45):
that one day there would be abreak in the case.
In 1995, first AssistantProsecutor Michael J Lapilla
announced they had received atip from an Elizabeth woman who
recalled seeing something whichhad turned out to be significant
on the investigation.
According to Lieutenant EdwardJohnson, a commander of the
prosecutor's homicide unit, thewoman had initially balked at

(05:07):
calling police because shethought that what she knew
wouldn't make a differencebecause so much time had passed.
The woman had named a potentialsuspect and while he was never
identified, investigators saidthat he had been questioned.
The update in the case led to aflurry of other phone calls
from people with potentialinformation and potential
suspects.
Investigators encouraged any ofthe original witnesses to

(05:29):
please come forward so that theycould be shown photographs of
the new potential suspects tosee if they could identify them.
Furthermore, it was announcedthat the Union County Crime
Stoppers Program would beoffering a reward of $5,000 for
information that could lead tothe arrest and indictment of
Wendy's killer.
With the update, wendy's familysaid that they were hoping the
tormenting cycle of sorrow,anger and hope that had haunted

(05:52):
their lives for almost threedecades may finally end.
My family and I are grateful tothose of you who have been
helping to bring this unsolvedtragedy closer to an end.
The aching of our hearts willnever disappear, but perhaps
some consolation can be achievedat this crucial time, said
Shirley.
Sadly, however, the lead neverpanned out.
The man was never identifiedand never arrested.

(06:15):
Presumably, it had beendetermined that he was not
involved in Wendy's murder.
It was the biggest manhunt inNew Jersey history, yet her
killer still remains at large.
Aside from a deathbedconfession, investigators have
admitted that they have littlehope of ever finding her killer.
A small display of rocks andflowers, funded and built by the
City of Elizabeth, marks thespot of Wendy's murder.

(06:38):
In 2016, for the 50-yearanniversary of Wendy's death,
the site was dedicated as amemorial to Wendy.
According to her sister, jodi,she has accepted that she will
most likely never know whokilled Wendy.
You live with it, she said.
You don't get over it ever.
Truly heartbreaking.
This world is full of sometruly horrible people.

(06:59):
I hope one day this family canget some closure.
Till next time, take care ofyourselves, thank you.