NJ NJ - Patrick O'Neill, 17, Deptford Township, 30 October 1975

On October 30th 1975, Patrick O'Neill was returning home when he noticed an intruder inside his residence. Investigators believe that he entered through the back door hoping to interrupt the suspect. The killer shot him multiple times in the head and escaped. Patrick's body was discovered by his friend about 40 minutes later. According to reports, this was not the first time the house had been burglarized. Throughout the years, the case-file grew as multiple detectives handled the investigation. Forty years later now, they are urging people to come forward with information. Patrick's parents are now deceased but his three brothers and the Gloucester County Police Department are determined to solve the case.

Forty Year-Old Gloucester County Cold Case Murder Investigation Continues

Forty years have passed since 17-year-old Deptford High School student Patrick O’Neill walked into his family’s Almonesson Road farmhouse and his young life ended in what was probably his interruption of a daytime burglary.

The fatal shooting of the Deptford NJ boy is one of Gloucester County’s oldest unsolved murders. Nonetheless, Patrick’s three brothers still believe whoever shot him on 10/30/75 will be found.

“We continue to have faith that those responsible will be identified and held accountable in some way,” wrote his older brother Michael, in an e-mail from his Louisiana home.

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1975 murder of 17-year-old Deptford resident gets renewed attention - October 2013

37 Years Since Deptford teen’s unsolved murder - October 2012

Need to know more
-The family, were they well off ?
-Does it list anywhere how much time elapsed between burglaries?
-Items taken in each instance ?

About 100 more come to mind

I was looking for more information. From MSM articles, there isn't much more available although I don't have access to the older stories. This is from the police file

Patrick O’Neill, age 17, was found murdered in his North Almonesson Road residence in Deptford Township, on October 30, 1975. The investigation revealed that Mr. O’Neill returned home and was shot after interrupting burglars who had entered his home through a rear door. Various articles were reported stolen from the residence.

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No specifics highlighted. They do not tie in the murder with the earlier robberies.

From the 35th anniversary article:

“There was speculation at the time about why a burglary would end in a homicide, especially when there appeared to be no struggle between the assailant and the 130-pound victim,” according to a release from Dalton’s office

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I'm assuming that they are alluding to the likelihood that Patrick recognized the intruder and that's why he was murdered?

Another article from 2010:

Nearly 35 years later, Gloucester County authorities issued a public plea last week for help in cracking the seemingly cold case - and hinted that investigators' initial theory, that O'Neill had been killed after coming home and surprising intruders, may not have been accurate.

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They don't elaborate on this and the newer stories don't mention it either.

The Inquirer reported that a television taken from the house had been found in the backyard. The victim's father, design engineer Joseph O'Neill, said the house had been broken into five times in the previous year.

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The house had been broken into five times earlier that year. I wonder if they had any suspects in those cases.

You might need to be signed in to read this Facebook post written by Patrick's brother. It's on the public group page for You know you're from Deptford when.....

https://www.facebook.com/groups/198387603549812/permalink/891843844204181/

He says that the area was hit by a rash of robberies, not just their house. He theorizes that Patrick may have pulled into the driveway as two people were in the back loading their car with stolen items. Upon seeing Patrick, these two individuals drove off while Patrick entered the house thinking it was empty. Except a third person was still inside and he ended up shooting Patrick.

Wondering if these robberies stopped for awhile after the murder.

I'd like to know more about the circumstances surrounding his friend finding him, particularly if (as his brother noted on FB) Patrick was home 60 to 90 minutes earlier than he normally would be. How did the friend know that Patrick would be home?

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JusticeWillBeServed said:

On October 30th 1975, Patrick O'Neill was returning home when he noticed an intruder inside his residence.

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RS&BBM. This has been bothering me. How do officials know this is what happened? Was Patrick still alive when his friend arrived and strong enough to say this? Are they surmising it solely off of the TV being in the yard?

If they were speculating, they probably should have said so. It's a pretty matter-of-fact statement that could have kept people from investigating other possibilities. Perhaps the TV was a cover-up to make it look like a robbery. Maybe the killer knew there had been break-ins and figured their best bet was to make it look like a robbery.

No DNA or other evidence to re-run now that technology has advanced?

All my opinion only. Thinking out loud.

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October 30th? So, that would make it Mischief Night, the night before Halloween.

The robberies seem like an important detail to solving this murder. If other houses were targeted as well, were no descriptions of possible suspects offered? Were they ever resolved or did they stop after the murder?

The house Patrick lived in was burglarized five times that year. Did they have a specific window for what time during the day these other robberies occurred? For example, mid-afternoon when Patrick returned home early. Is it unusual for the same people to rob the same houses during a short period? Do they believe different people were responsible?

The friend who found him may have been in the same class as Patrick and therefore could have had an early dismissal as well.