Murder of Joan D'Alessandro

The murder of Joan D'Alessandro occurred in New Jersey on April 17, 1973, when Joan, a 7-year-old Girl Scout, was raped and murdered by neighbour Joseph McGowan after she went to his house to sell cookies. McGowan, a high school teacher, pled guilty to the crime.[1] The crime led to the passing of "Joan's Law" in New Jersey in 1997,[2] which was amended in 2017 to state that "a person convicted of the murder of a minor under the age of 18 in the course of the commission of a sex crime will serve life imprisonment without the option of parole".[3]

Joan's mother later sued McGowan,[4] whilst campaigning to prevent McGowan's parole prior to the passing of Joan's Law.[5][6]

McGowan died in prison in June 2021.[7][8]

Coverage

The murder was detailed in The Killer Across the Table by John E. Douglas,[9] and was also the subject of a documentary film.[10]

References

  1. ^ Treaster, Joseph B. (June 20, 1974). "Former Teacher Admits To Killing of Brownie, 7" – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ "Joan's Law: the Murder of a Girl Scout Brownie | Archives & Special Collections". archives.law.virginia.edu. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  3. ^ McLaughlin, Shannon (July 31, 2017). "Seven-year quest ends in signing of Joan's Law; no parole for sex-crime killers of kids". Pascack Press & Northern Valley Press.
  4. ^ "Mother Gets $750,000 in Suit Against Her Daughter's Killer". September 27, 2001 – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ^ "Mother fights for 30 years to keep daughter's killer in prison". News 12 - Default.
  6. ^ Star-Ledger, Katherine Santiago/The (June 12, 2009). "'Joan's Law' killer Joseph McGowan denied parole for another 30 years". nj.
  7. ^ Stimson, Brie (June 13, 2021). "New Jersey man who killed 7-year-old Girl Scout 48 years ago dies in prison". Fox News.
  8. ^ "Rosemarie D'Alessandro reads letters from her daughter's killer". North Jersey Media Group.
  9. ^ "Booktalking "The Killer Across the Table" by John Douglas". The New York Public Library.
  10. ^ Morel, Kyle. "Documentary on 1973 murder of Joan D'Alessandro to premiere at Ridgewood film festival". North Jersey Media Group.
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