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By JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
The hired killers who savagely beat Carol Neulander to death will qualify for parole after just 10 years behind bars.
But Leonard Jenoff and Paul Michael Daniels won't necessarily walk free in that time, legal experts said after the men were sentenced Thursday. Courtroom observers also noted the killers' terms reflect the balancing act that comes into play for criminals who help convict even worse characters.
"Just because you're eligible for parole in 10 years doesn't mean you're out in 10 years," said Jay Blumberg, a Woodbury attorney. "A lot depends on how they conduct themselves in prison, whether they're helpful or whether they make problems."
Parole officials also will consider the nature of the crime, he said. And the victim's relatives can give their opinions before any parole decision is made.
Jenoff, 57, and Daniels, 28, admitted they posed as deliverymen to kill Carol Neulander in her Cherry Hill home Nov. 1, 1994. They also testified against the victim's husband, Rabbi Fred J. Neulander, saying he paid for his wife's death.
Neulander, 61, was convicted of capital murder last November. He's serving a life term with a 30-year bar on parole.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Linda G. Baxter sentenced both Jenoff and Daniels to 23-year terms, each with a 10-year bar on parole eligibility. Because of time served, the two men could qualify for parole in 2010.
Jenoff escaped a maximum sentence of 30 years, with a 15- year bar on parole. Daniels faced a potential maximum of 50 years, with a 25-year parole limit, because he also admitted guilt to robbery for taking the victim's purse.
Leonard Baker, a Haddonfield attorney, described the hit men's sentences as "appropriate ... under all the facts, even though both parties committed an obviously heinous act.
"They came forward," he said, referring to Jenoff's voluntary confession in May 2000. "They cooperated. That's the way the system works."
Voorhees attorney Jerrold Colton noted that Jenoff and Daniels admitted guilt to aggravated manslaughter, rather than murder, under plea agreements with prosecutors.
"Some people felt the aggravated manslaughter charge was already their break, and that the judge would have been clearly justified in giving the maximum," he said.
He believes Baxter showed mercy because the killers helped prosecutors convict the rabbi.
"Without their cooperation," Colton said, "they'd never get the person who most people feel is the real culprit."
Reach Jim Walsh at (856) 486-2646 or jwalsh@courierpostonline.com
