Strip club patron Jack Defona murder of Rachel Siani

I'll admit it: I've been to various strip clubs from time to time over the years. Like Pat McRae after his divorce, it's a seemingly harmless way to spend some time (and money) and feel some companionship. A past therapist of mine had an interesting observation about strip clubs. She said, "It's curious mix of victims and perpetrators," and she was intentionally ambiguous about who filled each role. But a few drinks with friends (or alone) at a strip club isn't the worst plan for a night out.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

I recall on many occasions that performers whom I would speak to at the club were college students. Like Rachel, it was a way to make decent money while getting their education. Also like Rachel, it seemed that an inordinate number of these college-by-day students were psychology majors. Perhaps the perceived correlation is insignificant, but I chuckled when the episode mentioned this was Rachel's major.

The episode also suggested not many people beyond her cousin Nancy knew of Rachel's nocturnal vocation. But it went on to explain that her parents did not approve of her "dancing in an extremely skimpy bikini." If much of Rachel's family knew about her working at Divas, who was the episode implying didn't know? Divas International Gentlemen's Club was an interesting backdrop for this story – the club perhaps made more famous by HBO's series G String Divas (2000). And of course from that series, who can forget the other Forensic Files reference from "Summer" describing Craig Rabinowitz's murder of his wife to cover up his fraud and deceptions.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

Many a married man might question, "How did Jack Denofa convince his wife to not only let him regularly go unaccompanied to a strip club, but to occasionally drive him?" But no judgement of Jack's wife – each relationship works with a different set of dynamics. A typical husband-wife might not have this type of understanding, especially when it includes staying overnight in the cheap motel adjacent to the strip club. But from the episode's content, Jack was a successful businessman, a "workaholic", and magnanimous. Perhaps his wife let him indulge his one ‘passion', which was apparently getting very drunk at a strip club.

Rachel had apparently been Jack Defona's favorite dancer at Divas. Apparently Jack would give Rachel money to spend the bulk of her work-time with him during his ritualistic Tuesday visits. This is common at strip clubs, and on nights a dancer doesn't want to ‘work' as hard, it's an easy alternative. But reporter J.D. Mullane summed it up well when he described Jack not being able to buy Rachel's affection, but unfortunately being able to by her trust. Sadly, is was her trust of "just Jack" that led to her demise – her harmless walking of Jack to the Econo Lodge. If only she left Jack in the motel Lobby.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

Similar to Katie Froeschle's murder by Jason Funk in Tampa, Florida, it was easy to make a list of the things that led to Jack Defona's conviction:

• Rachel's blood was found on the outside of the bridge railing – this indicated that a suicide was unlikely
• Rachel had been thrown off the bridge with no shoes and clean socks – another point that ruled out suicide.
• Jack's truck was photographed several times while passing through toll booths – placing his vehicle in the appropriate vicinity.
• Despite cleaning his vehicle, Rachel's blood was found under the bedliner of Jack's truck.
• No attempt was made to clean up the blood from the sidewalk outside the motel room window.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

There wasn't a lack of physical evidence pointing to Jack Denofa, so the clues found in room 223 at the Econo Lodge seemed like icing on the cake. So it was surprising that neither the fibers nor the blood were able to be matched back to Rachel Siani. It does speak to how well some motel rooms are cleaned between visitors though. There'd been four days and supposedly multiple cleanings since Jack Denofa stayed in the room – the visible blood was disturbing.

Of course, a few questions to round out the conversation and make you think...

• What happened to Rachel's shoes? When had they been taken off? Had she joined Jack up in his room, kicked off her shoes to relax, maybe to smoke a joint?

Where is Jack Denofa now in 2024?

In 2003, John "Jack" Denofa was sentenced to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole for at least 30 years. He has filed many appeals in the 20ish years since. In 2005 he had his convictions reversed on a technicality regarding the territorial jurisdiction of where Rachel Siani died. But a year later, the New Jersey supreme court overruled the appeals court's decision. He will be eligible for parole in August 2032.