On a late summer day in Bridgeton, New Jersey, the life of Octavia Ford, a 42-year-old woman, was violently cut short in what would become the first known murder in a multi-state killing spree. The tragic events of September 17, 1971, unfolded inside her own home, a place that should have been her sanctuary. That day, she was confronted by a man she knew, Carmello DeJesus, who was also known by the aliases Antonio Angel DeJesus and Jimenez DeJesus.
He had broken into her residence, and when Octavia discovered him, a fatal struggle ensued.
DeJesus, a career criminal with a short temper and a history of convictions for burglary and assault, turned a gun on Octavia. He shot her in the chest, ending her life. By the time neighbors discovered her body on the back porch, DeJesus had already fled. He first drove his own car away from the scene before abandoning it near Woodstown. There, he stole another vehicle to continue his escape, and a few days later, he was indicted in absentia for Octavia’s murder and the related break-in.
For two years, the murder of Octavia Ford remained officially unsolved, though authorities had their primary suspect. In that time, DeJesus continued his violent path, killing at least two other women. On January 5, 1973, he murdered 30-year-old Sandra Postell in Palm Beach County, Florida. Later that year, on September 2, he stabbed Milagro Tena to death in Camden, New Jersey. DeJesus was the sole suspect in Tena's murder, and an arrest warrant was issued for him just as the final chapter of his life was unfolding.
The manhunt for DeJesus came to an abrupt end not with an arrest, but with a discovery in a field in Perinton, New York, on September 8, 1973. Two teenagers found the body of the 39-year-old fugitive. Alongside his body lay a gun, a bottle of whiskey, and a Spanish-language Bible. Tucked between the pages of the Bible was a suicide note that brought a sudden and chilling resolution to several murder investigations across three states.
In his final written words, DeJesus confessed to his crimes. "I have killed four persons and I don't want to kill anyone else," the note read. "That's why I want to end my life." He specifically named three of his victims: Octavia Ford, Sandra Postell, and Milagro Tena. His confession provided the definitive link that police needed, confirming he was the man who had shot Octavia in her Bridgeton home two years earlier. The identity of the fourth victim mentioned in his note has never been determined.
Because Carmello DeJesus took his own life before he could be captured and tried, he never faced a jury for the murders he committed. His suicide closed the cases of his three known victims, including Octavia Ford, leaving their families with the certainty of his guilt but without the process of a public trial. The case is now considered solved, with the primary suspect deceased, bringing a somber end to the search for justice for Octavia and the other women whose lives he took.
