By MIKE DANIELS
Courier-Post Staff
FREEHOLD
Calling his father's plea for mercy "a disgrace," Dr. Matthew Neulander said he was satisfied that his father likely would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Other family members were less harsh in their comments Friday after a jury failed to agree unanimously on whether Rabbi Fred J. Neulander should be sentenced to death for having his wife, Carol, murdered. The lack of a jury decision means he will get a minimum of 30 years.
Carol Neulander's younger sister, Margaret Miele, speaking on behalf of her two brothers, expressed satisfaction, sadness, and gratitude toward the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
"Though forever saddened by the permanent void in our lives, we look forward to cherishing our many wonderful memories of a warm, generous, fun-loving and loving sister," Miele said, pausing midway to fight back tears.
Miele briefly addressed a media throng gathered in the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. She read from a prepared statement and did not field any questions. Standing behind her were her husband, Louis Miele, and her brothers, Edward and Robert Lidz, and their wives. All three couples attended the trial every day since it began Oct. 21.
Miele made a point of thanking several current and former Camden County Prosecutor's Office officials.
"Now we struggle to find words to express our heartfelt gratitude to the first assistant prosecutor, Jim Lynch, and Sgt. Marty Devlin for their tremendous skill, perseverance and compassion," Miele said.
Matthew Neulander, a doctor in North Carolina, spoke to Court TV on Friday afternoon after the trial's conclusion.
Referring to the guilty verdict, which the jury reached Wednesday, and the prison sentence that will keep him behind bars until at least 2030, Matthew Neulander said, "I am very satisfied with both verdicts."
Along with his sister, Rebecca Neulander Rockoff, Matthew Neulander testified against his father in the retrial. The Neulanders' other son, Benjamin, spoke on his father's behalf during the sentencing phase.
While on the stand, Matthew Neulander repeatedly referred to his father as Fred, a departure from his testimony at last year's trial in Camden, which ended in a hung jury.
"I am certainly convinced of his guilt," Matthew Neulander said. "The fact that I referred to him as Fred was not a ploy or a gambit. I thought that probably the best way to approach testifying was to be honest and genuine."
Matthew Neulander said he was convinced of his father's guilt after the rabbi testified on his own behalf last fall.
"I sat there and I watched him lie repeatedly and baldly during his testimony, lies that perhaps may not even be evident, probably, to people watching, but lies that I knew because I was there. It really became cemented for me that a man who's innocent ... wouldn't need to tell untruths in this way."
On growing up with Fred Neulander as his father, Matthew Neulander said: "There certainly wasn't any clue, to me, who I think I'm pretty observant, that he was leading a double life or had these inherently evil qualities we now know him to have."
Reach Mike Daniels at (856) 486-2457 or mdaniels@courierpostonline.com
