Posted on 10/19/2002 7:51:08 AM PDT by MVV
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| School yearbook photo of Gregory Katsnelson. | |
A Medford man who was charged with beating his mother to death over a pack of cigarettes is also accused of fatally stabbing an 11-year-old boy and leaving his body floating in a lake for neighbors to find in what a prosecutor called a "random act of violence."
Greg Katsnelson's body was discovered at James Lake in Evesham's exclusive Kings Grant section, known for its secluded private beach and winding, wooded trails.
Authorities say Ronald Pituch, 26, committed the crimes during a horrific burst of violence that began Thursday afternoon.
Pituch, who had been treated at a mental-health facility in the past, became agitated when his mother refused to buy him cigarettes, said Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi. He said it was a "random act of violence while the suspect was on his dirt bike in Marlton."
Pituch's rampage began about 3 p.m. Thursday at the home of his mother, Josephine Pituch, 62, on Huntington Circle Drive in Medford.
Using an unknown object, Pituch beat his mother and left her to die of "blunt force trauma," according to results of an autopsy.
At some point, authorities said, he tied up his 5-year-old niece, who was living at the home. It was not immediately known whether anyone else was living there.
Within minutes, Pituch was gone, authorities said. His niece was able to quickly free herself and alerted a neighbor that her grandmother was ill, Bernardi said.
Neighbors called 911, and law-enforcement officers quickly initiated a search on the ground and from the air with a state police helicopter.
Pituch crossed paths with an elderly woman who lived in the development and assaulted her, authorities said.
He was fleeing toward the Kings Grant section on a dirt bike, over a series of trails that connect the communities. He encountered young Katsnelson, who had just completed his homework and was riding his bike in search of friends who used the trails as shortcuts.
Details of their meeting were not known. But authorities said Pituch pulled out a serrated kitchen knife with a black, plastic handle and repeatedly stabbed the boy.
Andy Prinz, 15, who identified himself as a friend of the victim's, said he saw a man fitting Pituch's description walking into the woods at about that time.
He said the man asked for a cigarette.
At 5:47 p.m., police received a call that a couple had found the boy's body facedown in the lake.
Less than 15 minutes earlier, Pituch had shown up at Medford's police station, little more than 21/2 hours after authorities say he killed his mother.
He was being held last night at the Burlington County Jail on $750,000 bail, charged with two counts of murder. Pituch was scheduled for an arraignment on Monday.
Property records show Pituch lived at the Huntington Circle Drive property bought by his parents, Josephine and Thomas Pituch.
Court records show that Buttonwood Hospital in Pemberton, a psychiatric hospital that also treats addictions, sought to recoup $400 from Pituch for a week of treatment he received in 1995. No details on why he sought treatment or the outcome were available.
There were no criminal complaints against Pituch on file with Burlington County.
Friends and neighbors of 11-year-old Greg Katsnelson mourned the loss of a sharp, outgoing, quick-witted boy who was so bright that he began kindergarten at the age of 4 and was later bumped up another grade.
His body was found in the lake off a secluded trail near his home on a cul-de-sac on Elizabeth Court in the Kings Grant development. His parents are Mark and Cathy Katsnelson, and the family moved there from Philadelphia in August 1998.
His friends said yesterday that they had found a red-and-white dirt bike with blood on the handles.
Greg attended seventh grade at Marlton Middle School. He was often seen riding his bicycle with three best friends, or cruising local streets on rollerblades.
Jeanne Smith, spokeswoman for Evesham schools, said students were informed of the slaying shortly after arriving at 7:25 a.m. yesterday.
"Greg was just an awesome kid," said Tamara Godchalk, a 16-year-old sophomore who attends Cherokee High School with Katsnelson's older brother, Aaron. "He was so smart."
Neighbors in the quiet, affluent neighborhood of trees and orderly lawns spilled from their homes yesterday afternoon toward bus stops, making sure their children were safe. Many were furious that they were not informed of Greg's murder and the connection to a second slaying until yesterday.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
Friends called Greg an intense artist who wrote fiction, penned action characters, and could doodle the Eiffel Tower down to the last detail.
Many students at the Marlton Middle School were so saddened that they spent the remainder of the day drawing posters and writing poems about Greg.
Student Sarah DeRosa wrote a poem, "Rest in Peace, Greg."
It reads: "You were so talented, I thought you would be famous. You were a great friend. If you are wondering, everyone in school cares. Greg if you're listening, rest in peace."
What a handsome young man, my heart breaks for his family!
One word...
permanent basement guest
OK, that's three words...
You get my drift though, right?
This boy, Greg, was a friend of mine.
From firsthand experience, he was, and is currently, a big influence on my life, and the lives of those who also knew him well.
Three years later, I still cry for him, and I still miss him dearly.
But, I personally believe (I can't speak for his famiy, or his other friends) that Pituch was mentally ill. And, as much as I would love to have him feel the weight of his crimes, I believe that killing him is wrong... there are still people who love him in the world, and to take him away after all that's happened would be horrible. However, nothing should stop the government from making him complete his entire 40 years (i think that's it..not sure though) in jail.
"An eye for an eye makes the world blind."
Prayers for the victims and families.
Sorry for the loss of your friend, but I must tell you......thinking like yours is what allows monsters back out on the street to murder someone else's friend.
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