Body parts of man killed by Toms River standoff fugitive found in Jackson: Prosecutor

Kathleen Hopkins, Asbury Park Press
Updated ·3 min read

TOMS RIVER - Before he committed suicide during an hours-long standoff with police, a fugitive sought in the murder of a Seaside Heights woman also murdered the owner of the home where he was holed up and, with the assistance of others, dismembered the man's body and dumped it in Jackson, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Monday.

During an ongoing investigation into the June 27 fatal shooting in Manchester of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, detectives discovered evidence that another murder may have occurred on or about July 3 at the home on Ravenwood Drive in Toms River where fugitive Maxwell Johnston held police at bay for more than six hours before killing himself on July 5, Billhimer said.

Acting on information that evidence of the second murder could be found at a property on Toms River Road in Jackson, officers from a host of law enforcement agencies, including K-9 units, descended on the location Friday and discovered "numerous body parts in black bags, along with additional evidence connected to the murder," Billhimer said.

The same day, detectives also searched the Ravenwood Drive home in Toms River where Johnston had barricaded himself. They found a defaced .22-caliber handgun and other evidence that the second murder was committed there, the prosecutor said.

During a post-mortem examination of the body parts Saturday, the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office identified the second victim as Kerry Rollason, 56, the owner of the Ravenwood Drive home. The medical examiner determined Rollason's cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and blunt-force trauma and the manner of his death was homicide.

Further investigation led to evidence that it was Johnston who killed Rollason about two days before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the standoff at Rollason's home, Billhimer said. The standoff occurred when authorities went there to arrest Johnston in connection with Caroleo's murder.

Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was wanted for murder in the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, in Manchester on June 27. A little more than a week later, Johnston killed himself during a standoff with law enforcement in Toms River.
Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was wanted for murder in the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, in Manchester on June 27. A little more than a week later, Johnston killed himself during a standoff with law enforcement in Toms River.

Police determined that the gun found in Rollason's home belonged to Elizabeth Mascarelli, 29, of Seaside Heights, who was charged with harboring a fugitive for allegedly hiding Johnston there, Billhimer said.

As the investigation progressed, detectives learned that Mascarelli and two others — Danielle Bolstad, 42, of Barnegat, and Jared Krysiak, 34, of Brick — helped Johnston dismember Rollason's body, and that the same trio, along with Jarred Palumbo, 36, of Manchester, helped Johnston dispose of the body parts in Jackson, the prosecutor said.

A red haired woman who emerged from the Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon, July 5, 2024, where Maxwell Johnston had been barricaded is taken into custody by SWAT officers. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.
A red haired woman who emerged from the Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon, July 5, 2024, where Maxwell Johnston had been barricaded is taken into custody by SWAT officers. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.

Palumbo was arrested Friday and charged with hindering apprehension and desecrating human remains. He was issued a summons and released pending an upcoming court appearance.

Bolstad, who is facing the same charges, was arrested Sunday and taken to the Ocean County Jail to await a hearing to determine if she will continue to be held without bail pending trial.

Mascarelli, who already was in jail on the harboring charge, was served Monday with additional charges. They are: hindering apprehension, desecration of human remains, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a defaced firearm.

Jared Krysiak
Jared Krysiak

Krysiak is at-large and considered a fugitive, the prosecutor said. Police are seeking any information on his whereabouts.

A SWAT officer shoots a cannister into the Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon where Maxwell Johnston had kept them at bay. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.
A SWAT officer shoots a cannister into the Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon where Maxwell Johnston had kept them at bay. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.

"The crimes committed against Mr. Rollason are unsettling and disturbing," Billhimer said. "I am thankful for the law enforcement professionals who worked diligently to uncover these depraved and soulless crimes."

The prosecutor commended the numerous law enforcement agencies who took part in the investigation and also asked anyone who may have related information to call Detective Denis Mitchell of the prosecutor's office at 732-929-2027, extension 2476, or Toms River Detective 732-349-0150.

SWAT officers make their final push into a Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon where Maxwell Johnston had kept them at bay. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.
SWAT officers make their final push into a Ravenwood Drive home Friday afternoon where Maxwell Johnston had kept them at bay. Johnston is the suspect in the slaying of Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.

Contact Kathleen Hopkins at khopkins@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River standoff investigation leads to body parts in Jackson