Joseph M. Harris and the 1991 New Jersey Postal Murders
Background
Joseph Maurice Harris was a 35-year-old former United States Postal Service employee who carried out a revenge-driven series of murders in northern New Jersey during the night of October 9 and the early morning of October 10, 1991. The attacks occurred at a private residence in Wayne and at the Ridgewood Post Office, where Harris had previously worked. Four people were killed during the 1991 rampage.
Harris had worked as a postal clerk in Ridgewood before being dismissed in April 1990. His former supervisor, Carol A. Ott, had reportedly documented threatening and harassing behavior by Harris and had participated in the disciplinary process that led to his removal. Harris blamed Ott and the Postal Service for his firing and continued to resent them long after he lost his job.
In preparation for violence, Harris accumulated firearms, ammunition, grenades, homemade explosive devices and bladed weapons. He was particularly interested in martial arts and ninja imagery and sometimes dressed in a black ninja-style uniform. Investigators later concluded that his actions were carefully planned rather than an impulsive workplace confrontation.
The Earlier Murder of Roy Edwards
The 1991 postal murders eventually connected Harris to an earlier killing. On November 15, 1988, an armed intruder wearing dark clothing entered the Montville, New Jersey, home of investment broker Roy Edwards. Harris had invested money through Edwards and believed that he had lost approximately $10,000.
During the home invasion, members of the Edwards family were restrained and terrorized. Roy Edwards attempted to escape and was fatally shot. The case remained unresolved for nearly three years. After Harris was arrested in October 1991, investigators examined the weapons found in his possession. Ballistic evidence linked one of his firearms to the bullet used to kill Edwards, resulting in additional charges against Harris.
The Murders of Carol Ott and Cornelius Kasten
On the night of October 9, 1991, Harris traveled from his home in Paterson to Wayne, New Jersey. Wearing black clothing and carrying multiple weapons, he entered the residence shared by Carol Ott and her fiancé, Cornelius “Corky” Kasten Jr.
Ott, who was 30 years old, was Harris’s former supervisor at the Ridgewood Post Office. Harris attacked her with a sword, inflicting fatal injuries. He also shot 36-year-old Cornelius Kasten, who was inside the home. Both victims died before help could reach them.
The attack on Ott appears to have been motivated by Harris’s belief that she was responsible for the loss of his postal job. Kasten had no known involvement in Harris’s employment dispute and was killed because he was present when Harris entered the residence.
The Ridgewood Post Office Attack
After leaving the Wayne residence, Harris traveled to the Ridgewood Post Office at 143 East Ridgewood Avenue in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He still possessed a key that allowed him to enter the building. He arrived during the predawn hours of October 10, before most employees had reported for work.
Harris concealed himself inside the building and waited for workers to arrive. Mail handlers Joseph VanderPaauw and Donald McNaught entered the post office to begin their early-morning duties. Harris ambushed both men and shot them at close range. VanderPaauw, 59, and McNaught, 63, were fatally wounded.
Other employees became aware that something was wrong and alerted authorities. Harris took control of portions of the building and reportedly held people inside for a period of time. Police surrounded the post office while employees and nearby residents were kept away from the danger zone.
Weapons and Explosives
Harris entered the post office carrying an extensive collection of weapons. Reports described him as possessing automatic or semiautomatic firearms, ammunition, grenades, a sword and homemade explosive devices. He wore black tactical or ninja-style clothing and had protective equipment that included a gas mask.
During the confrontation, explosions were heard or devices were detonated inside the building. The presence of explosives complicated the police response because officers could not immediately determine whether the post office had been booby-trapped. Bomb technicians were later required to search and secure the property.
The quantity and variety of weapons demonstrated that Harris had prepared for a prolonged confrontation. He had the ability to cause additional casualties, but police contained the scene and prevented him from leaving the building or reaching the surrounding community.
The Standoff and Arrest
A standoff lasting approximately four and a half hours followed the killings. Police negotiators established communication with Harris while heavily armed officers surrounded the Ridgewood Post Office. Authorities attempted to persuade him to surrender without provoking further gunfire or explosions.
Harris eventually emerged and surrendered on the morning of October 10, 1991. He was taken into custody without being killed or seriously injured. Officers then entered the building, discovered the bodies of VanderPaauw and McNaught and began searching for additional victims and explosive devices.
Investigators soon learned about the deaths of Ott and Kasten at their Wayne residence. The discovery established that the post office attack was the second location in a coordinated killing spree. Harris was initially charged with four counts of murder, kidnapping, weapons offenses and crimes involving explosives.
Victims
- Roy Edwards – Killed on November 15, 1988, during a home invasion at his residence in Montville, New Jersey. Edwards was an investment broker whom Harris blamed for a financial loss.
- Carol A. Ott, 30 – Killed during the night of October 9–10, 1991, at her home in Wayne, New Jersey. Ott was Harris’s former supervisor at the Ridgewood Post Office.
- Cornelius “Corky” Kasten Jr., 36 – Shot and killed during the night of October 9–10, 1991, at the Wayne residence he shared with his fiancée, Carol Ott.
- Joseph M. VanderPaauw, 59 – A mail handler from Prospect Park, New Jersey, who was shot and killed during the early morning of October 10, 1991, inside the Ridgewood Post Office.
- Donald Scofield McNaught, 63 – A postal employee who was shot and killed during the early morning of October 10, 1991, inside the Ridgewood Post Office.
Investigation and Trial
The prosecution presented evidence showing that Harris had developed grievances against both Roy Edwards and Carol Ott. Weapons recovered following the post office standoff connected him to the 1988 Edwards murder, while the circumstances of the Wayne and Ridgewood killings directly tied him to all four deaths committed in 1991.
Harris’s attorneys argued that he suffered from serious psychiatric problems and was not legally responsible for his actions. Reports from the proceedings described unusual statements in which Harris claimed that a ninja spirit or outside force had influenced him. Prosecutors maintained that his detailed planning, acquisition of weapons, selection of victims and movements between crime scenes demonstrated that he understood his conduct and acted deliberately.
In 1992, Harris was convicted of murder and numerous related offenses. He was sentenced to death for the killing of Roy Edwards. He also received consecutive life sentences and additional prison terms for the other murders, kidnappings, assaults, weapons violations and crimes committed against surviving members of the Edwards family.
Appeals and Death
The New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed Harris’s convictions and death sentence. In 1995, the court upheld the principal findings against him, including his murder conviction and capital sentence. His attorneys continued challenging the verdict and punishment on grounds involving mental illness, jury instructions and the administration of New Jersey’s death penalty.
Harris was never executed. On September 23, 1996, he collapsed and died of natural causes while incarcerated at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. He was approximately 40 years old. His death occurred shortly before additional arguments concerning his sentence were expected to be heard.
Legacy of the Case
The Ridgewood murders became one of several highly publicized attacks involving current or former postal employees during the 1980s and early 1990s. These incidents contributed to public anxiety about workplace violence and were frequently associated with the expression “going postal.”
The phrase can obscure the individual lives lost in the attacks. Carol Ott, Cornelius Kasten, Joseph VanderPaauw and Donald McNaught were targeted during a calculated campaign of revenge, while Roy Edwards had been murdered in a separate attack three years earlier. Harris’s arrest solved the Edwards case and revealed that the 1991 rampage was part of a broader pattern of planned violence.
The murders also demonstrated the danger posed by dismissed employees who retain access to secure workplaces. Harris used his knowledge of the Ridgewood facility and an old key to enter before normal business hours. The case subsequently became an important example in discussions of employee threat reporting, access control, workplace security and law-enforcement responses to armed suspects carrying multiple types of weapons.
