Jenewicz guilty, again, in gruesome murder

After just two hours of deliberation, a state Superior Court jury in Middlesex County last week found George Jenewicz guilty of first-degree murder for fatally shooting his live-in girlfriend in his South River home 10 years ago.

George Jenewicz The jury of six men and six women rejected Jenewicz' claim of self-defense in its Sept. 24 decision.

The former biological technician at Bristol-Meyers Squibb, dressed in a light blue blazer, showed little emotion as the jury read the verdict of guilty of murder and possession of a firearm, a .357 Magnum revolver, for an unlawful purpose.

The 55-year-old faces 30 years to life in prison for the October 1998 death of his girlfriend of several months, Eunice "Nadine" Gillens-Joseph, 42. After the killing, Jenewicz dismembered the victim's arms and head with a hatchet, and put her head in a pot of water on the kitchen stove, with the intention to boil it.

His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 14 before Superior Court Judge Frederick Devesa in New Brunswick.

This was the second trial for Jenewicz, who was previously spared the death penalty and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in 2002 for the murder.

The Supreme Court reversed the conviction of Jenewicz last January, citing that the trial court erred in not allowing certain testimony from Gillens-Joseph's mother, Lillian Tankard, and the trial court erred in precluding the testimony from John Kelly, a drug counselor and a rehabilitated cocaine abuser.

The court also cited that the trial court "inappropriately denigrated what evidence in support of [the self-defense] claim that the defendant could marshal at trial." That related to the testimony and cross-examination of a doctor who evaluated Jenewicz' ability to plead an insanity defense or a diminished capacity defense.

The court said the culmination of the three errors prevented the defendant from receiving a fair trial.

The court did not reverse the hindering charge against Jenewicz for not notifying police of what had occurred, and dismembering the victim's body with a hatchet.

The fatal shooting occurred on Oct. 22, 1998, at Jenewicz's home on Cleveland Avenue. Jenewicz reportedly shot Gillens-Joseph once in the chest with a .357-caliber Magnum.

Jenewicz testified about his deteriorating relationship with Gillens-Joseph, leading to Gillens-Joseph becoming abusive toward him.

Greg Jordan, defense attorney for Jenewicz, displayed photographs to the jury of a split scalp and knife wounds that Jenewicz sustained after physical altercations with Gillens- Joseph.

Assistant Prosecutor Neil Casey, during cross-examination, asked Jenewicz why he had endured the abuse.

"All this time you endured this and you never told her to move out?" asked Casey.

"I endured [the abuse] to a point," Jenewicz answered, adding that he did not tell Gillens- Joseph to move out.

Jenewicz testified that he and Gillens- Joseph got into an argument the day of her death because he had purchased alcohol for himself rather than cocaine for her addiction. He said he shot Gillens-Joseph as a reaction, after she jumped at him from the bed in the bedroom, arguing that she reached for a .22- caliber shotgun.

According to police reports, friends of Jenewicz reported the crime to police eight days later, after he reportedly asked for their assistance in removing Gillens-Joseph's body from the home.

At the scene, police found Gillens-Joseph's severed head in a pot on the kitchen stove and her armless torso wrapped in a plastic bag in a garbage can in the basement. Jenewicz testified that he walked, carrying her arms in a knapsack, to nearby Varga Memorial Field on William Street, where he disposed of them in the marsh.

Casey asked Jenewicz why he had bought candy on the way back from disposing of Gillens-Joseph's arms. The candy was found sitting in front of the front door of his residence.

"Halloween," he answered with a shrug.

Jenewicz had been in at least four rehabilitation centers for drug and alcohol abuse. He and Gillens-Joseph reportedly met while in an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center earlier in 1998.