N.J. Cop: 'Someone Knows' Who Killed Girl, 7, In Unsolved Case

A New Jersey police officer has helped spark renewed interest in the fatal stabbing of a 7-year-old girl 50 years ago this week - an unsolved case that, he believes, someone is still alive to speak about.

He's done it by using the modern methods of social media, and putting a spotlight back on the stabbing death of Wendy Wolin.

Elizabeth Police Capt. Todd Mooney, who reopened the case several years back, has put together a Facebook group that has attracted interest - and can attract some possible tips - regarding Wolin's death.

Mooney doesn't mince words on the page regarding potential eyewitnesses to the case, saying this:

"On March 8th, 1966 Wendy Wolin was murdered in front of Pierce Manor and no one has ever been charged/arrested. It has been [50] years but someone knows WHO KILLED WENDY WOLIN.

"This group is for anyone who chooses to share memories of that day, rumors you may have heard and/or what you heard your family members say about this crime."

He also wrote on this on Facebook:

“March, 8, 1966. Wendy Sue Wolin was murdered in front of her home on Irvington Avenue. Someone out there knows who did it.”

Some shared their experiences from the time, saying they were either impacted by the case emotionally, or perhaps found themselves victimized by an experience that could have been connected.

"A few years later, my mom got an anonymous kidnap threat by phone telling her I was tied up in his trunk. He asked her if she wanted to hear me scream. Fortunately, I was at school that day, but my mom was not sure because in those days, we walked to school and he claimed to have snatched me on the way. He also made a reference to Wendy.

Wendy's sister, Jodi, showed her appreciation in one response:

"To my dear sweet sister Wendy, I can't believe we have been apart for 50 years!! Never been a day that you were not in my heart! I can believe that sooo many people have been affected by your loss and how you left this earth! So happy we will have a memorial and make sure that you are recognized!! I love you more than words can say and hope you with mommy and daddy One day when I leave this earth I want you to be there to get me please. I miss you sooo much. Be happy and soar with the angels my little beauty. Your loving sister, Jodi."

Wolin was stabbed to death while waiting for her mother outside their apartment building in Elizabeth 50 years ago. A composite sketch of the male suspect in one of largest manhunts ever in the state was released, but the case still went cold, according to police and news reports.

What people still find puzzling is that the murder was apparently one of several crimes allegedly committed by suspect on the same day. Despite his public behavior, he still couldn't be found.

In a composite sketch released at the time (see photos), Elizabeth police said the suspect allegedly stabbed a 11 year old girl in the buttoocks, then put his arms around a 16-year old girl at Morris Avenue and Prince street.

A sort time later, he "accosted" an 18-year-old girl when asking for directions. Immediately after, he stabbed the 7-year-old girl in the stomach with a small hunting knife, police said.

The case has picked up momentum recently as the 50th anniversary came this week, and WNBC-TV and The Daily Beast wrote about it.

One woman, Beth Moroney, told WNBC-TV that she is certain she saw Wendy’s killer on her block the same day that her friend, 11-year-old Mae Rubenstein, was stabbed more than a dozen times inside the family home on South 3rd Avenue in February 1965.

“I saw the face and I knew right away it was the same man,” Moroney told the station. “All I could do was scream. I just kept screaming, 'It’s him, it’s him.'”

Photo: NBCNew York.