Rowan killer still on loose

A $100,000 reward posted on billboards. A chilling video containing the image of a suspect. More than 200 interviews conducted by law enforcement officials in four states.

One year after Rowan University sophomore Donald Farrell was beaten to death over Homecoming weekend, the tantalizing clues and public pleas have not helped investigators find the killer.

But officials say they haven't stopped looking.

Nearly 50 law enforcement officers will patrol the Gloucester County campus during Homecoming events this weekend, handing out flyers containing pictures of a suspect.

"Our hope is to get new leads. We're still looking for suspects, pulling out all the stops, and keeping it fresh in people's minds," said Timothy Michener, the public safety director at the 10,000-student school.

Police said five men approached Farrell about 9 p.m. Oct. 27 to ask for directions to a student party. It was Homecoming weekend, and Farrell was walking with a group of friends.

Two of the five men knocked the 19-year-old Farrell to the ground and kicked him in the neck, severing his aorta. They also stole his wallet and cell phone before fleeing in a "dark-colored car," police said.

"We're still continuing a very large effort to solve this. An arrest will occur. It just takes time," Michener said.

Sean Dalton, the Gloucester County prosecutor, said his office has conducted more than 200 interviews, including some with gang members already in jail to see if they might have any information.

"We're constantly working on this and exhausting all possible leads," Dalton said. He called the case a "top priority."

The images in the flyers and the YouTube video were taken from a videocamera at the X-Press convenience store, near the Triad apartments, moments before the attack. In the video, the suspect is wearing a distinctive Cooji Heritage hoodie, which has a gray body, red sleeves and a British flag logo. He also has braids or dreadlocks.

Dalton decided to post the image on YouTube to reach a youth audience. He said the 30-second clip got more than 1,000 hits and generated several tips.

America's Most Wanted

, a television show that often leads to cold-case arrests, also aired a segment on the murder earlier this year and provided phone numbers that the audience could call to provide information. Dalton said a few calls came in, but none enough to solve the crime. The show is planning a second show on the murder within the next few weeks, he said.

Farrell's death shocked the normally quiet campus, which is located in Glassboro, about 20 miles from Philadelphia. The most recent major crime before Farrell's slaying at the school was a murder-suicide in 1996, when a student was killed by her boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself.

Dalton believes Farrell's murder is a "random act of violence" and was not a gang initiation, as some people at first believed. Farrell, a business major from Boonton, Morris County, had not done anything to provoke the assault, Dalton, the prosecutor, said.

Dalton has also ruled out any link between the murder and an attack on Farrell by five Rowan students a few months earlier. Dalton said Farrell's jaw was broken in that assault, which followed an altercation at a fraternity party. Rowan suspended one student in that incident.

Kathy and Donald Farrell Jr., the victim's parents, could not be reached for comment. They have erected a plaque and memorial for their son near a field outside Mountain Lakes High School, where he played on the baseball team.

Rowan students interviewed on campus last week remembered the killing but say they feel safer now that the college has hired more campus police and increased its security.

"It happened so close to our home on campus, right in our backyard, and it was a worry," said Julia Conover, a junior from Somers Point, N.J., who lived at the Triad Apartments. "But Rowan stepped up and took measures to make us as safe as you can feel on a campus. You know, they can't be with you all the time."

Kimberly Phiffer said, "It bothers me that they never found the people who did this." The junior from Vineland said she believes the killer chose Homecoming weekend to attack a student on the road because most of the police were monitoring the events.

But Phiffer believes Rowan now takes a more aggressive approach against crime. "Now we get e-mail alerts about muggings and all, and there are more escorts for students," she said. "But before that, the university was lax. No one expected this."

Michener said that the campus police force added eight officers, bringing the total to 21, after the incident. Four security officers have been hired, for a total of 18. And a new student patrol, comprised of 13 law and justice majors, assists police on rounds, he said. Escorts are also more readily available.

On top of that, Rowan has more lighting and emergency phones around campus. Currently, officials are considering installing video cameras.

Michener, the public safety director, said the student government is preparing to hold a memorial service Oct. 27. Details have not been finalized.

Last year, more than 500 students attended a service and candlelight vigil.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 856-307-7180 or

» READ MORE: mcu@co.gloucester.nj.us

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