Maria's favorite bands to listen to were The Grateful Dead and Dan Fogelberg.
They were members of the Saint Dominic's Roman Catholic Church. 
In 1981 Maria was a senior at Brick Memorial High School. Her favorite subjects in school were art and English. 
Maria wanted to attend South Carolina College to study music after she graduated high school. During the previous summer break Maria had worked at a local motel on the beach, she loved the beach.
When Halloween night rolled around Maria asked her mother for a dollar before she left her home in Brick Township, New Jersey. Maria's mother only had a 10 dollar bill and told her to ask her father. As Maria went out the door, her father told her to be back early. Little did he know, that was the last time he'd ever see his daughter alive.
The police informed Maria's parents that policeman on patrol, Michael Whittles, had seen her just after midnight, walking towards her home, just two miles away on Route 88. The officer returned shortly to offer her a ride, but she was nowhere to be seen.
The detectives searched the local wooded areas as well as behind houses along the Point Pleasant Manasquan Canal. The private investigator rented a helicopter and surveilled all the wooded areas in the county. Despite all the searches turning up fruitless, Maria's mother never stopped hoping that she was alive.
Then on January 14th, 1983, two boys spotted a body in the underbrush behind a Burger King on Route 35 and Sunset Avenue, fully clothed with no signs of sexual assault and with four bullets in her head. 
It wasn't Maria, but Anna Marie Olesiewicz. 
Anna had beautiful auburn hair and blue eyes. She was the youngest of five children born to Camden firefighter captain Robert Paul Olesiewicz and his wife Anna Marie Whittaker. 
They lived on 1194 Morton Street in Camden, New Jersey.
In 1982 Anna had graduated from Paul VI High School in Haddon Township. By June she had broken up with Michael, but she still wore his ring. Michael had hopes that that meant that one day they'd get back together.
She went with her, friend Denise Hunter, to Jersey Shore in Asbury Park. Anna wanted to get away for the weekend before she started classes at Camden County Community College. She was due back home on Sunday, but never returned. Denise went the the bathroom Anna was gone.
Police looked into Richard's past and found out that his father was an alcoholic and he was beaten as a child. At the young age of 5, Richard set his house on fire and was then sent to a psychiatric hospital. At 9 years old, he was given electroshock therapy and then sent to a state school. Richard didn't finish 8th grade until he was 16 years old. After that, he went to high school for 3 weeks before dropping out.
When Richard was 18 years old, he lived with his mother on Staten Island and stole a car with a friend.
They drove to New Jersey where they stopped at a small grocery store and with a sawed off shotgun, Richard went inside and shot the clerk, 47-year-old Stephen Sladowski, grabbed $100 and left.
After his release, Richard worked odd jobs, and met a pretty 16 year old Theresa Smith, who was a neighbor of his mother. The girl was a normal, outstanding student. By 1977 he was engaged to the girl and her parents were shocked when they found out. Richard had not reported to his parole officer for quite sometime, and was suspected in a rape as well. He was arrested in Brooklyn in June 1980, and married his Theresa in the Brooklyn House of Detention. The rape charges were dropped when the victim failed to identify him in a lineup, but he still served six months for his parole violation. When released he moved into an apartment with his Theresa in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The apartment was managed by Dherran Fitzgerald.
After learning about Richard's past, a search of the house turned up pipe bombs, pistols, a machine gun, knockout drops, marijuana, a live puff adder snake, and floor plans of various local business'. Police snagged Fitzgerald first and he told them everything. Richard had showed him a body in the garage, saying that she had been killed "for business reasons." Fitzgerald also pointed to the locations of two more bodies in Jersey. One of those bodies was 17 year old Betsy Bacon.
She was born on September 27th,1964 to Armando Ciallella and Mary Nosti. They were a close-knit family and religious.
It was 6:30 p.m. and a little chilly when 17-year-old Maria left her house to look for a Halloween party by the beach. She was wearing a white fur jacket, beige slacks, denim vest, tinted eyeglasses and moccasins.
Well, Maria didn't come home early that night and before they went to bed her parents left the window open so she could hop through it when she got home. But Maria never came back that night and when her parents got up and realized she hadn't made it back they called the police.
Maria's parents knew she hadn't run away. She had left her jewelry and clothes behind. She had also left her contacts sitting on her dresser.
For two years Maria's family searched for her to no avail. They hired a private investigator and even talked with psychics. One of the psychics said that Maria was alive and well. The other one claimed that she was buried in a wooded area in Ocean County.
Anna was just 10 years old when her mother died on June 5th, 1973. On the seventh anniversary of her mother's death, Anna's boyfriend Michael Knoblauch gave her a ring with a gold band and a dark sapphire.
On August 28th, 18-year-old Anna was wearing faded blue jeans and a black shirt that tied jut about the elbows.
"I knew something was wrong, because she wasn't the type of person to go off without letting anyone know," said Anna's brother Robert.
Every weekend after that, Robert went to Asbury Park with a picture of Anna. He walked along the boardwalk, showing strangers the picture and asking if they had seen her. It was if she had vanished.
Theresa Smith went to police and told them that ex, Richard Fan Biegenwald, told her that he was the one who killed Anna. She also said that he would take people at random and kill them just for the thrill of it.
Police looked into Richard's past and found out that his father was an alcoholic and he was beaten as a child. At the young age of 5, Richard set his house on fire and was then sent to a psychiatric hospital. At 9 years old, he was given electroshock therapy and then sent to a state school. Richard didn't finish 8th grade until he was 16 years old. After that, he went to high school for 3 weeks before dropping out.
When Richard was 18 years old, he lived with his mother on Staten Island and stole a car with a friend.
Stephen Sladowski was not only a grocery store owner, but a“Man of affairs and lawyer," He was born on April 30th, 1911in Bayonne to Frank and Bessie (Wichrowski) Sladowski.
Two days later, Richard and his friend were pulled over in Maryland for speeding. As an officer approached the car, Richard fired twice at the officer and he fell to the ground. Richard and his friend peeled out of there. Later, they were pulled over again for speeding. And as the officer approached the vehicle, Richard again fired two shots, but this time missed and the officer fired back. Richard was hit, but he was trying to reload the gun as the officer ran up and kicked the gun out of his hand. Richard was then arrested and his friend was taken into custody as well. While in custody, Richard's friend told the police about Stephen's murder. Richard and his friend were both charged with first degree murder and facing the death penalty. Richard was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole and his friend was sentence to 20 to 30 years. While in prison, Richard met Dherran Fitzgerald, who was in there for armed robbery. Richard was released after serving only 17 years in 1974.
After his release, Richard worked odd jobs, and met a pretty 16 year old Theresa Smith, who was a neighbor of his mother. The girl was a normal, outstanding student. By 1977 he was engaged to the girl and her parents were shocked when they found out. Richard had not reported to his parole officer for quite sometime, and was suspected in a rape as well. He was arrested in Brooklyn in June 1980, and married his Theresa in the Brooklyn House of Detention. The rape charges were dropped when the victim failed to identify him in a lineup, but he still served six months for his parole violation. When released he moved into an apartment with his Theresa in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The apartment was managed by Dherran Fitzgerald.
After learning about Richard's past, a search of the house turned up pipe bombs, pistols, a machine gun, knockout drops, marijuana, a live puff adder snake, and floor plans of various local business'. Police snagged Fitzgerald first and he told them everything. Richard had showed him a body in the garage, saying that she had been killed "for business reasons." Fitzgerald also pointed to the locations of two more bodies in Jersey. One of those bodies was 17 year old Betsy Bacon.
Elizabeth Jane "Betsy" Bacon was born in 1964 to Suzanne Saunders Bacon. Betsy was last seen at 11 p.m. November 20th, 1982, when she told her mother she was going to a Seven-Eleven store on Route 71 to buy cigarettes.
The other body was that of 34 year old William J. Ward. Who was a "self-employed video game operator" and an alleged drug dealer who disappeared either September 21st or 22nd in 1982.
Finally, Fitzgerald brought investigators to Richard's mother Sally Biegenwald's backyard. There police found Maria's body, cut into three pieces and buried in the yard of a rundown blue house in the Charleston section of Staten Island. In the shallow grave with Maria were the remains of another girl, Deborah Osborne, 17. She had disappeared from a Point Pleasant, New Jersey, bar the previous April.
In 1983, Richard was found guilty of killing Anna and was sentenced to death. He was then convicted of killing William and plead guilty to killing Maria and Deborah. He was given a life sentence for each of those murders, but not for the murder of Betsy. Fitzgerald stuck a deal and ended up serving 3 years of a 5 year sentence. Richard died in prison in 2008.
There are more suspected victims of Richard's out there...
In 1983, Richard was found guilty of killing Anna and was sentenced to death. He was then convicted of killing William and plead guilty to killing Maria and Deborah. He was given a life sentence for each of those murders, but not for the murder of Betsy. Fitzgerald stuck a deal and ended up serving 3 years of a 5 year sentence. Richard died in prison in 2008.
There are more suspected victims of Richard's out there...
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