[at-l] Trail Angel Desperado killed in NJ

[RockDancer]

The saddest post in my life to write. --RockDancer


 


2 charged with Stillwater murder


By STEVEN REILLY and LYNDSAY CAYETANA BOUCHAL

newsroom at njherald.com

STILLWATER - It is an open and shut case, according to prosecutors. Two men
went to the home of a Stillwater resident and stabbed him repeatedly with
two knives, then left him for dead.

But why they did it is still a mystery.

Clark T. Fredericks, 47, of Fredon, and Robert A. Reynolds, 47, of
Hackettstown, allegedly killed Stillwater resident Dennis Pegg, 68, in his
Millbrook Road home on Tuesday.

There was no sign of a burglary attempt gone awry, and no prior interaction
between the suspects and victim has been made public.

According to Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller, based on
the evidence and statements of the two suspects, there is little question of
who killed Pegg.

But why they did it is still under investigation.

"This is not a who-done-it case," Mueller said. "This is the type of case
where the why-did-they-do-it is in question."

The motive for the killing and any link between Pegg and the two suspects is
still under investigation by law enforcement officials.

According to court documents and testimony, Fredericks and Reynolds went to
Pegg's home in Stillwater sometime Tuesday. There the two allegedly attacked
Pegg with knives.

Fredericks allegedly cut the victim's throat and stabbed him 20 times in the
chest. Reynolds is believed to have stabbed Pegg a number of times during
the attack as well with a second knife.

The pair then allegedly fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Reynolds.

According to Mueller, when Fredericks returned to his home in Fredon, where
he lived with his parents, his mother noticed he was covered in blood and
feared that he may have killed Pegg.

"Fredericks' mother contacted a counselor they knew and told her that her
son came home covered in blood," Mueller said. "She feared he may have
killed Pegg, so she called the State Police and asked them to do a
well-being check on him."

At about noon Wednesday, the State Police received the call and sent
troopers to investigate. When troopers arrived at Pegg's home on Millbrook
Road in Stillwater, they found him dead.

Troopers then went to the Fredon home of Fredericks and took him into
custody. Troopers also went to the Hackettstown home of Reynolds, where they
allegedly found the two knives and bloody clothing in a vehicle driven by
Reynolds.

Both Fredericks and Reynolds were formally charged with murder in the first
degree Thursday in state Superior Court in Newton. Both men are being held
in the Sussex County jail on $350,000 bail each with no 10 percent option.

A young woman at Fredericks' Fredon home declined to comment on the charges
Thursday and said the family is going through a very hard time at the
moment.

Pegg was a retired Sussex County corrections officer who worked under former
Sheriff Robert Untig.

"He was a good guy, a straight shooter," Untig said Thursday.

Untig said Pegg began working at the jail in 1977 and retired in the 1990s
as the lieutenant in charge of training.

"He always tried to do the right thing as far as his job goes, and that's
why he did the training. He was so thorough," Untig said. "He did an
excellent job."

Untig described Pegg as "caring and always positive."

"He was a genuine, good guy," Untig said. "He always tried to help people
out ... talking to the inmates, encouraging them ... to start a new life,
steer them in the right direction."

Pegg was also an active member of the Sussex County community. He was a
history buff, who shared his love of the county and his hometown as
president of the Sussex County Historical Society and recording secretary of
the Historical Society of Stillwater Township. Pegg previously served in
various capacities for the township's historical society, including
president and vice president.

"He was very proud of his little town," said friend and current president of
the Stillwater Historical Society Bob Grabowsky.

Grabowsky said Pegg could be found every Sunday during the summer sitting at
the Stillwater Museum, eager to give tours. Pegg was one of the
organization's longest sitting members, Grabowsky said.

"Dennis was one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet," he said. "I
was constantly amazed at how many people's lives he's touched and cared for.
The guy's an amazing man."

Grabowsky, nearly at a loss for words, said he was "completely shocked" to
hear of Pegg's murder.

"It makes absolutely no sense," he said.

Linda Rienecker, corresponding secretary for the Sussex County Historical
Society, said she was dumbfounded when she received the call from a fellow
society member about 10 p.m. Wednesday informing her of Pegg's death.

"We are all pretty much in shock and trying to make sense of it," she said.

Pegg was in his second year as president of the county historical society
and had set several goals, one which was to have the historical society
museum open to the public more often, she said.

"He was forging ahead with all these changes," she said, noting Pegg often
would be at the museum for hours.

Saturday was a second Saturday of the month, when the museum is open to the
public. Rienecker said she, Pegg and several other historical society
members were at the museum during its open hours. Pegg bought pizza for the
group afterward, she said.

Pegg was also a self-proclaimed outdoors enthusiast; he enjoyed hunting,
hiking and later, by natural extension, birding. In the mid-1950s, Pegg's
interest in birds blossomed, and he became one of the founding members of
the Sussex County Bird Club, Grabowsky said.

"Birding was a real passion of his," he said.

While Pegg no longer owned any domestic pets, Grabowsky said, "pets were
literally the wildlife that would come to his house every day."

Grabowsky said his friend was a "reliable food source" for the birds, deer
and woodland critters that frequented his home. Through a bond Pegg and the
deer developed over time, he was able to pet and groom them, Grabowsky said.

"It was astonishing to see it," Grabowsky said.

Grabowsky joked, "I'd call him Dr. Doolittle. 

Pegg was a 1962 graduate of Newton High School graduate and a Vietnam
veteran. There are no funeral arrangements yet for Pegg. As of Thursday
afternoon, his body was still with the Morris County Medical Examiner's
Office for autopsy procedures.

 

 

Arthur D. Gaudet

RockDancer on the Appalachian Trail

Rockdancer97 at comcast.net

 

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