Jerry Gervasoni
Real Name: Gerald Gervasoni
Aliases: Jerry Gervasoni, Weasel
Wanted For: Murder, Parole Violation
Missing Since: July 17, 1986
Case[]
Details: Twenty-seven-year-old Jerry Gervasoni of New Jersey is wanted for strangling his twenty-two-year-old girlfriend, Pauline "Paula" Pasciak, to death. On July 9, 1986, Paula and Jerry left Seaside Heights, New Jersey and went on vacation together. They decided to stay at her mother Barbara's house in the lakeside resort town of Kissimmee, Florida. During the visit, Paula and Jerry slept in Barbara's bedroom while she slept on a couch. On Sunday, July 13, the couple told Barbara that they would be leaving the next morning to visit some of Jerry's relatives in Miami.
Paula Pasciak
The next day, Barbara thought she heard them get up, but she decided not to say goodbye before she left for work. When she returned, they appeared to have left. Over the next five days, an odd smell began to waft through her mobile home. However, she and a friend were unable to determine where it was coming from. On Saturday, July 19, she decided to search her entire home again, eventually looking in her bedroom. She was shocked and horrified to find her daughter's body wrapped in a bamboo curtain under her bed. Paula Pasciak had been beaten and strangled to death.
Gervasoni was the prime suspect in Paula's murder. However, he had dropped from sight. One month later, police got their first break when they questioned his friend, a man who requested to go by the alias John. He said that he had picked up Gervasoni at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, three days after Paula was believed to have been killed. John also claimed that Gervasoni had confessed to accidentally breaking Paula's neck in a struggle because she caught him stealing Barbara's paycheck. Gervasoni noticed that John was upset so he said that he joking; John then took Gervasoni home. He did not learn the truth until the authorities contacted him.
By the time an arrest warrant was issued for Gervasoni, he had vanished. In the years since the murder, Barbara has seen her own life unravel, noting that she has become a very angry and hateful person. Sadly, the murder also left her too traumatized to hold down a job. She later lost her home and has not had a permanent address since 1991. She still hopes to see Gervasoni caught. Along with the murder charge, he also faces charges of parole violation stemming from robbery and escape convictions in New Jersey.
Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the October 6, 1993 episode. Gervasoni had been previously profiled on America’s Most Wanted.
Gervasoni after his 1993 arrest
Results: Captured. On October 21, 1993, Gervasoni was arrested in Salt Springs Island near Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. He had been living there under the alias Gordon Neil McIntyre. He had previously lived in an apartment; his former landlord watched the broadcast, recognized him, and alerted authorities. Once in custody, Gervasoni insisted that he was McIntyre; however, a fingerprint comparison confirmed his true identity.
Gervasoni also faced sexual assault and harassment charges in Canada; however, those were dismissed in order to speed up extradition. For the next two years, he fought to stay in Canada and sought "refugee status". However, in August 1996, he was extradited to Florida. In May 1997, he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison as a "habitual offender". However, in 2000, his sentence was reduced to seventeen years. He was paroled in 2003 after serving just six years. He was then returned to New Jersey where he was sentenced to three years in prison for parole violation. He was released in 2006, moved to Washington, and died in May 2013.
Fortunately, Barbara was able to get herself off the streets and later moved to a home in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Links:
- Police Search For Boyfriend In Suffocation Of Woman, 22 - July 23, 1986
- Man Still Sought For Questioning - August 7, 1986
- Tv Show Mother's Last Hope - Suspect In Slaying Of Daughter Sought - November 5, 1989
- On Tv: Case Of Woman Found Dead Under Bed - October 6, 1993
- Suspected Florida killer caught in Canada - October 22, 1993
- Tv Show May Help Crack 7-year-old Murder Case - October 23, 1993
- Ganges RCMP collars suspect in U.S. murder after getting tips - October 23, 1993
- Florida won't seek death for Canadian facing extradition - June 4, 1994
- Murder suspect rejects 'no-electric chair' deal - June 9, 1994
- "Dangerous" count may stop Weasel's refugee status bid - July 4, 1994
- Canada To Extradite Suspect In Decade-old Killing - August 16, 1996
- Suspect: Lived on Saltspring Harbor - August 16, 1996
- Man Guilty Of '86 Murder In Osceola - May 29, 1997
- Gervasoni guilty - May 30, 1997
- Man Gets Life For Murder - June 25, 1997
- Killer's Life Sentence Reduced To 17 Years - December 22, 2000
- Paula Pasciak at Find a Grave
- Jerry Gervasoni's Obituary