TRENTON, N.J. – The New Jersey community is left with mixed emotions upon learning of the passing of Fred Neulander, the rabbi who was serving time for his involvement in a 1994 murder-for-hire plot targeting his wife.

Neulander, 82, was found unresponsive in his cell at the New Jersey State Prison infirmary before being pronounced dead at a hospital in Trenton. The cause of death has not been disclosed at this time. Neulander had been serving a 30-year to life sentence since January 2003 after a jury convicted him of orchestrating his wife’s murder.

The late Carol Neulander, 52, a mother of three, was tragically beaten to death in her Cherry Hill home. Prosecutors alleged that Neulander had hired hitmen to carry out the deed and make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Neulander was believed to have orchestrated the killing to continue an extramarital affair he was having at the time.

Despite maintaining his innocence and claiming the hitmen acted independently, Neulander’s appeals were consistently denied. Both men involved in the murder were released after serving 23-year sentences. Neulander’s progressive case eventually reached the appellate court in 2012 and the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2016, both of which upheld his conviction.

Neulander’s death marks the end of a lengthy legal battle and leaves many in the New Jersey community reflecting on the tragedy that unfolded nearly three decades ago. The case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of betrayal and deceit within relationships, leaving a lasting impact on all those involved.