Delaware Online focuses on cold cases and one very mysterious death

A photo of Adolf Czojor. His death in 1996 is still under investigation.
A photo of Adolf Czojor. His death in 1996 is still under investigation.

Adolf Czojor's shift ended mid-afternoon. The affable, good-natured man went to his Barbara Circle home in Bear – an all-age, pet-friendly, well-maintained mobile home community – and walked across the street to neighbor Fred Marini's home.

The men drank coffee, ate cookies and chatted about nothing memorable.

"He was his usual self," Marini later recalled.

By the evening, Adolf Czojor (pronounced CHOY-or) was ready to celebrate with his second wife, Madeline Joan Thomas Reese Czojor, known by her middle name Joan.

Adolf wanted to go to Delaware Park racetrack and casino in Stanton, a favorite spot of the frequent gambler. He told Joan she could play the slots while he tried his luck "at the ponies."

Joan couldn't be persuaded. And on their anniversary, Adolf went alone.

About three and half hours later, he was dead.

The circumstances and ensuing investigation would become one of the most perplexing of Delaware's more than 300 cold cases or unsolved homicides.

This is a piece of a story written by Delaware Online journalists Patricia Talorico and Esteban Parra into the mysterious and still unsolved death of Adolf Czojor. You can read the entire project here:

THE DEATH OF ADOLF CZOJOR: Who would want to kill the happy sausage maker from Bear?

The pair also collected information on more than 300 cold cases or unsolved homicides in Delaware. You can review those here:

COLD CASES: Search Delaware Online’s list of the state’s 320 cold cases

The project took months to complete, as Talorico and Parra went through case files, old stories and conducted new interviews to uncover information about the mysterious death.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Online focuses on cold cases and one very mysterious death