PERTH AMBOY - Barry Rosengarten chooses to remember his aunt Ruth Jacobson for the way she lived — as a loving, generous woman — rather than the brutally violent way the 92-year-old city philanthropist died in her home nearly 27 years ago.

"She was a fantastic, generous, giving individual," said Rosengarten, founder and president of Rosengarten Realty and Development Corp. in Perth Amboy, noting Jacobson was generous to her family and various organizations, especially those serving the Jewish community.

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"She was a woman who loved to help and did so," he said. "She was the matriarch of her family."

But on Oct. 29, 1991, Jacobson's frail, bloody body was found on the floor of the master bedroom in her High Street home, after apparently being strangled and beaten to death with her own cane, which was found in splinters. She had been hit over the head, and had her ribs and right arm broken by the cane, according to newspaper reports.

Her brother and nighttime careworker found her body after the worker was unable to gain access to the locked home.

Rosengarten said police in charge at that time couldn't believe how brutal the attack was, or why.

A cold case review

In the decades since the attack, no one has been arrested or charged with killing Jacobson, whose death was caused by blunt force trauma. The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is now taking another look at the cold case in the hopes it can be solved with the advancement in DNA testing, or witnesses.

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"We believe there are witnesses out there. Somebody needs to know something," said Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey, adding his office believes someone knows something about the case that has yet to be disclosed.

Carey said the case has been listed on Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County website for some time. He said the motive, which is not known, would explain why the person would have done it.

"I believe in this case there were no signs of forced entry. There looks like there were a couple of rolls of quarters that might have been taken but other than that it doesn't appear that anything else of value was taken from the home. For this to be such a brutal attack with no clear motive it's kind of stumped us," Carey said.

A wealthy philanthropist

Jacobson was a pillar of the Perth Amboy community, well known for her generosity and compassion. The widow of a prominent real estate agent, she lived on a tree-lined street with big old homes just blocks from the city's waterfront in what is generally considered one of the best, most affluent neighborhoods in the city — an area where other well known families such as Leon Hess, of the Hess Corporation, and the Wilentz family, prominent in legal circles and politics, once lived.

Born and raised in Perth Amboy, she was the salutatorian of her 1916 Perth Amboy High School graduating class and returned to the district in 1918 to teach fourth grade at School No. 1 for five years, according to newspaper reports.

She also adopted her mother's interest in helping others. She and her late husband, Isadore Jacobson, founder of Jacobson, Goldfarb and Tanzman Associates, a Woodbridge real estate brokerage firm, helped found the Central New Jersey Jewish Home for the Aged in the Somerset section of Franklin.

She served on the board of Camp Kiddie Keep Well in Edison, a summer program for disadvantaged children, and was a member of the Perth Amboy Local Assistance Board for more than 50 years. She was involved with the United Jewish Appeal and the Perth Amboy Hadassah, according to newspaper reports.

At her funeral, attended by more than 500 people at Congregation Shaarey Tefiloh, Rosengarten described his aunt as "a girl who couldn't say no" when someone asked for help and as someone who worked to make the world better for others, according to newspaper reports.

Rosengarten said his aunt also was a fantastic baker.

"I still can taste her ginger snaps," said Rosengarten, who spent a lot of time with his aunt and uncle, a couple who had no children of their own.

Rosengarten said his father died when he was just 7 years old. As a result his mother, grandmother, aunt and uncle all served in parental roles in his life.

"I was fortunate to have Aunt Ruth Jacobson in my life," he said.

Jacobson was a tiny woman with big eyes and a warm smile.

"She was beautiful," Rosengarten said adding, Jacobson sang with an operatic voice. "It brings back memories of what she was and how sad it is that she is not here."

Sharp in mind, frail in body

Although her mind was sharp, Jacobson's health began to deteriorate around the time she turned 90 years old. She was frail and had suffered a fall, at which time family members decided she would require someone to take care of her almost around the clock, according to newspaper reports.

Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Detective Michael Connelly said Jacobson had a caretaker during the day and another caretaker during the nighttime hours who would stay until the next morning.

The daytime caretaker typically left around 4 p.m. and the evening caretaker arrived around 6:30 p.m. For about two and half hours a day, Jacobson was alone in her home — the time during which her murder occurred, according to newspaper reports.

After the nighttime caretaker and Jacobson's brother found her lying in a pool of blood, they ran out to street to get help and somebody stopped and called police, according to Connelly.

He said an autopsy determined Jacobson died of manual strangulation and assault and the manner of death was determined to be homicide.

"She was beaten to death with her own cane and the cane actually shattered in several pieces. Nobody should ever have to see their own loved one like that. Nobody should have to end their life that way," Connelly said.

Police canvassed the neighborhood and conducted motor vehicle stops in hopes of generating leads on the killer. People were interviewed, fingerprints taken and DNA tests conducted, all yielding negative results.

"I just remember someone coming to my home and saying Ruth was killed," said Shep Sewitch, who also lived on High Street and was friends with Jacobson's nephew, Roland Winter. "It was terrible, terrible news. We never had anything like that before in Perth Amboy. It was a very unusual occurrence."

The day she was killed, Rosengarten was at the Armory, the Front Street waterfront restaurant he formerly owned, when his uncle, Dr. Murray Jacobson, called and said "Aunt Ruth is gone" and told him to head to his aunt's house, located just a few blocks away. On the way, Rosengarten contacted his wife and sister to tell them something terrible had happened and to head to the High Street home.

When he arrived, Rosengarten found the house surrounded by police who wouldn't let him inside, and didn't know who was responsible for his aunt's death.

Though in failing physical health, Rosengarten said his aunt was in control mentally. Newspaper accounts indicate she had left frozen food on the counter to thaw for her dinner.

"It had to be someone who hated her," said Rosengarten.

Before retiring from the Perth Amboy Police Department 15 years ago, Mike Pizza was the lead detective on the case.

And it's a case that still remains fresh in his mind.

"Every year I know the anniversary date. I know the case. I live with it," said Pizza, a retired police lieutenant, who has kept the case alive in the criminal psychology law enforcement class he teaches at the Calvary Christian High School in Old Bridge.

"It's one of those intriguing cases. I wanted to solve it with the kids," he said. "The hard part is trying to figure out who did it."

Beside his students, the case also has been studied by the FBI. All the studies hint at the killer as someone who had reason to be there.

"Whoever did this knows things about her that others did not," Pizza said.

Pizza recalls many details of the case as if it occurred yesterday. He said the call came in to police at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1991, two days after the clocks were turned back an hour.

"She was beaten unmercifully," said Pizza, adding the case sticks with him because it was so brutal. "She had no reason to die."

Pizza said Jacobson, a wealthy and demanding woman, lived in a unique California modern ranch home in an area filled with stately Victorian-style homes, just two doors away from her brother, a retired anesthesiologist.

He said her daytime caretakers were a husband and wife team commuting from more than an hour away, who did some odd jobs and lived in the home as if they were family. Jacobson also had a man who did outside chores in addition to the nighttime caretaker.

He said all the workers, family members and neighbors were interviewed by police. In addition to no signs of forced entry, cash was found in her pocketbook and nothing of value was taken from the home.

Time for the case to be solved

But yet the killing was done with great passion, he said.

"There are other ways quicker and less brutal," said Pizza, who has investigated many homicides and formerly worked on a cold case squad. He said someone spent time killing her.

With the passage of nearly 30 years, he thinks it's time for someone to confess.

"I think it's time to make it right," he said.

Rosengarten, too, is hoping DNA or some other evidence is found linking someone to his aunt's death.

"It was terrible. I hope they do (solve it)," he said. "It was a terrible tragedy and horrible feeling I encounter when I think of Aunt Ruth."

Connelly said the case is being looked at again and any potential leads whether it be through science or whether it be from people coming with tips will be investigated.

"We ask for the public's help in not only giving closure to our victim but our victim's family," Connelly said.

Carey said anything of note related to the Jacobson murder should be reported. He said someone might have seen someone and not thought it mattered, but his office is interested in following up on any leads.

He said with this crime there is a chance the person responsible may not have lived a law-abiding life since then.

"Whether they said something or acted a certain way or committed other crimes, that's always something to look for," Carey said.

How you can help

The case is under investigation by Connelly and Perth Amboy Sgt. Marcos Valera. Anyone with information about Jacobson's death is asked to contact Connelly at 732-745-3254 or Valera at 732-324-3876.

Information also can be provided to Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County, a nonprofit organization that partners with law enforcement to enable the public to anonymously submit crime information and will pay a cash reward should it lead to an arrest.

Tip information may be provided anonymously by calling 1-800-939-9600 or submitted online at www.middlesextips.com. Tips may also be sent by text messaging 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword: “midtip” followed by the tip information.

Those who provide information will be given a unique numerical code that that allows them to communicate with the program and collect a reward should their information lead to an arrest. All reward amounts are approved and set by Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County Inc.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com