KIYC: Bergen County detectives renew push to solve twin cold-case killings
Investigators are still searching for the man who murdered Joan Davis on August 17, 2010. They say he may have also murdwered Dolores Alliotts a few months earlier.
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It remains one of the tri-state’s biggest crimes. On Aug. 17, 2010 – 16 years ago - someone killed 74-year-old Joan Davis in her Bergen County home. Prosecutors believe the same man is responsible for another murder a few months earlier.
Joan Davis was found inside her home. Investigators say she’d been beaten with a hammer and stabbed, and her home was then set on fire.
Davis was a well-known political advocate who spoke at every Teaneck town council meeting. Her nephew, Peter Bonadies, says she was obsessed with making a difference.
“She was very interested in local governance and accountability,” he says, “and really was an advocate for democracy.”
Bonadies says Davis also suffered from mental illness and often believed she was being targeted due to her political activities. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office says it does not believe her activism had anything to do with her murder.
One reason officers do not believe the crime was politically motivated is that they believe Joan Davis was not the only victim.
In April 2010, another Bergen County woman named Dolores Alliotts was killed in similar circumstances. Investigators believe the same suspect committed that crime.
Investigators have one key piece of evidence from the night Joan Davis was killed. Surveillance video shows a man walking toward her house shortly before the crime, then walking away after.
“The video surveillance that we were able to collect remains our most actionable lead,” says Jeff Angermeyer, Chief of Detectives for the BCPO.
The surveillance video is low quality and it is nearly impossible to see the man’s face. But the BCPO was able to enhance the video enough to get a clear image of the shirt the man was wearing. They hope someone may recognize it.
If you have any information about the murders of Joan Davis or Dolores Alliotts, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office asks you to call 201-226-5532.
Earlier this year, News 12’s Walt Kane covered the Alliotts-Davis case in depth in a half-hour episode of Crime Files. You can see the full episode on News12.com.
