When Officer Charles Bernoskie was gunned down during a routine patrol in 1958, his murder went unsolved for decades, protected by a family's deadly silence. This is the chilling true story of Robert Zarinsky, a serial killer who terrorized New Jersey communities throughout the 1960s and 70s, leaving behind a trail of young women who simply vanished.

From the disappearance of 17-year-old Rosemary Calandriello in 1969 to the brutal murders of Jane Durrua, Linda Balabanow, and others, Zarinsky's reign of terror was enabled by a family willing to cover up his darkest crimes.

This gripping tale reveals how one mother's obsession with appearances and family loyalty created a monster, how DNA evidence finally connected decades-old cold cases, and why some victims' families waited over 40 years for answers.

Sources:

https://murderpedia.org/male.Z/z/zarinsky-robert-deadly-secrets.htm

Suspected serial killer Robert Zarinsky dies in prison. By Laura Craven. For The Star Ledger. November 30, 2008. https://www.nj.com/news/ledger/topstories/2008/11/tony_kurdzukthe_starledgerhand.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Zarinsky

50-year-old cold case solved. By Andrew Ford for app.com. February 17, 2016.

https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2016/02/17/serial-killer-accused-another-murder/80513376/

https://web.archive.org/web/20150209235300/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/robert_zarinsky/index.html

In May 1982, two thirteen-year-old boys skipped school in Queensland, Australia, a decision that led one to his brutal death and the other to a nightmare of survival. When Peter Aston and Terry Ryan accepted a ride from two men, they had no idea they were entering a world of sadistic violence, a world of unimaginable pain. What followed became one of Australia's most disturbing crimes: hours of torture, sexual abuse, and murder that would leave one boy dead and another forever traumatized. This episode explores the shocking details of Peter Aston's murder, the twisted relationship between his killers, the impossible choices Terry Ryan faced to survive, and the aftermath that destroyed lives across decades. A harrowing true crime story about evil, coercion, and trauma that still haunts Australia 40 years later.

Sources:

Paul Luckman & Robin Reid: Australian Child Killers. by Paul B. Kidd For CrimeLibrary.com. https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/reid-robin.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Aston

Australia's most sadistic child killer applies for parole, sparking warning from original cop. By Staff. For news.com.au. February 25, 2021. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/australias-most-sadistic-child-killer-applies-for-parole-sparking-warning-from-original-cop/MJAMOW6ZTZXC3LGSRLVIVTNLWY/

Soldiers get life sentences for torture murder of boy. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130833614

https://alchetron.com/Nicole-Louise-Pearce-(Paul-Luckman)

https://alchetron.com/Robin-Reid-(criminal)

https://alchetron.com/Murder-of-Peter-Aston

Robert R. Reldan had everything. Looks, charm, and money from a wealthy aunt who adored him. But in October 1975, two women named Susan disappeared from Bergen County only eight days apart. What followed exposed a decades-long pattern: assaults dismissed, paroles granted, a system that kept giving second chances to someone who shouldn't have gotten them in the first place.

It's a story about privilege, the cost of looking the other way, and two families who refused to let their Susans ever be forgotten.