A New Jersey man was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a family friend who had given him a place to stay, then burying her body and lighting her sprawling home on fire, according to prosecutors.
Ronald Teschner was convicted in Oct. 2022 of killing 65-year-old Jacqueline Terrulli in September 2019. In addition to the murder charge, the 53-year-old was also found guilty of robbery, aggravated arson, desecrating human remains, aggravated assault and weapons offenses.
Monmouth County Prosecutors alleged that Teschner stole from Terrulli, his former girlfriend and roommate, and then killed her inside her Ocean Township home on Wickapecko Drive before wrapping her remains in plastic and burying them underneath the home. He then set the mansion on fire, prosecutors said, before taking off in her Jeep Wrangler.
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Firefighters responded to the home that was engulfed in flames around 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2019, and an investigation revealed that the only two people unaccounted for were Terrulli and Teschner. Terrulli's mother and two siblings also lived at the home, but were away in Atlantic City at the time of the fire, according to prosecutors.
The missing Jeep was located a day later in Paterson, about an hour north from the scene of the blaze, with Teschner in the driver's seat. Also found in the car were two shotguns, fentanyl, some jewelry and other items belonging to Terrulli, prosecutors said.
He was charged in Dec. 2019, but it wasn't until demolition was underway at the 6,000-square-foot home Ocean Township home that Terrulli's body were discovered six months later. The fire caused charred rubble to collapse on and cover the remains, which had initially prevented detectives from finding them. Terrulli was identified through dental records.
Prosecutors said that fire was fueled by nail polish that had been dumped in Terrulli's bedroom.
"Yesterday’s sentencing was commensurate with the abhorrent nature of these crimes," First Assistant Prosecutor Julia Alonso said. "We again extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Jacqueline Terrulli, with the hope that the conclusion of the criminal case brings them some degree of satisfaction in knowing that justice has been served on her behalf."
