REOPENED: A Lesson in Homicide

Summary

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Cold Case Files

Episode: REOPENED: A Lesson in Homicide

Date: February 12, 2026
Podcast: Cold Case Files (A&E / PodcastOne)
Narrator: Marisa Pinson

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Episode Overview

This episode chronicles the heartbreaking murder of beloved schoolteacher Janelle Melton in Neptune City, New Jersey, in 2009, and the years-long investigation that finally brought her killers to justice. With detailed interviews from Janelle’s ex-husband, colleagues, former students, detectives, and key witnesses, it explores how a mistaken identity burglary led to a brutal, senseless homicide—and how persistence, advanced DNA science, and the courage of witnesses finally cracked a rare cold case.

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Key Discussion Points & Investigation Timeline

1. Janelle Melton: Beloved Teacher and Community Member

• Janelle was a passionate, energetic educator, deeply admired by students and staff at Red Bank Middle School.
• She attended President Obama’s inauguration and inspired her students to engage with history.
• Notable Quote:

  “She was so excited and bubbly that it was infect[ious]. When she was taken, the sun left for a while.”
  —Friend/Colleague of Janelle, [00:57]

2. A Marriage, Then Tragedy

• Janelle and Michael Melton met as children, fell in love as adults, and married young.
• Their marriage ended in divorce after three years, but they remained close friends and colleagues.
• Notable Quote:

  “She cared about me tremendously. I had never met nobody that was so into me like that...I just wasn’t used to that much affection.”
  —Michael Melton, [05:14]

3. Discovery of Janelle’s Murder

• On September 14, 2009, Janelle failed to arrive at school. Michael was sent to check on her and discovered her body.
• The scene was gruesome—her apartment ransacked, signs of a violent struggle and torture, suggesting killers searched for something.
• Notable Moment: Michael recounts finding Janelle

  “When I walked in the room, that's when I saw her on the floor...I called 911. I told them to hurry.”
  —Michael Melton, [06:36]

4. Initial Investigation: Michael Melton Under Suspicion

• Police initially suspected Michael due to his relationship and proximity to Janelle.

• He provided a DNA sample, gave alibi details (which held up), and cooperated, but the suspicion damaged his career and mental health.

• Notable Quote:

  “All eyes is on me. Everybody turned against me...Why y’all treating me like a criminal?”
  —Michael Melton, [17:55]

• DNA from duct tape at the scene matched Michael (explained by his contact when he found her), further complicating his situation.

5. Forensics, Missed Leads, and Media Fallout

• Lighter found at the scene:
  • DNA taken from it, but no immediate matches.
• Media coverage implied Michael's guilt, harming his reputation.
• The community reeled from the crime in what was considered a “safe” neighborhood.
• Neighbors later admitted hearing suspicious noises but failed to call police, frustrating those seeking answers.
• Notable Quote:

  “There were so many emotions going through me.”
  —Michael Melton, [20:54]

6. Breakthrough in the Case (2012)

• Years later, advanced DNA testing traced the lighter’s DNA to Gregory Jean Baptiste, a known gang member.
• He denied involvement, unconvincingly. The evidence on the lighter alone was insufficient to charge him.
• Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner:

  "It's not DNA on something that was used to harm Janelle...It was on a lighter under a window." [24:01]

7. New Eyes: Cold Case Reopened

• Detectives Scott Sammis and Matthew Quagliato took on the case, meticulously reviewing everything from scratch.
• Michael Melton sought street information to clear his name and learned the actual target was a drug dealer next door; Janelle was killed by mistake.
• Notable Quote:

  “The guy next door...had $15,000 in the freezer and some drugs in the house...they came to rob their house, and then they went to the wrong house.”
  —Michael Melton, [26:31]

8. Identifying the Killers

• A criminal informant finally named three men (Gregory Jean Baptiste, Ebenezer Byrd, Jerry Spralding) and a fourth, a female getaway driver.
• Detective Sammis worked to corroborate their involvement through confidential sources and witnesses.

9. The Crucial Witness: Elizabeth Pinto

• Pinto, ex-girlfriend of Byrd and getaway driver, eventually confessed.

• She described dropping off the masked men, their use of latex gloves, and waiting as they invaded the wrong apartment, corroborating forensic findings.

• Elizabeth Pinto’s Confession:

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t say it sooner.” [33:19]

• Cell tower data placed all three men at the crime scene.

10. Trial and Convictions

• Pinto’s testimony, cell data, and DNA evidence formed a solid case.
• The men were charged with murder, robbery, and related offenses; all pleaded not guilty.
• Jury found Gregory Jean Baptiste, Ebenezer Byrd, and Jerry Spralding guilty; they received life sentences.
• James Fair, who spread the word about the money, was convicted for conspiracy.
• Notable Emotional Moment:

  “Once I heard the first guilty, I just knew that it was gonna be guilty, guilty, guilty...Then it was just like, yes. And the verdict came down on my birthday.”
  —Michael Melton, [38:43]

11. Aftermath: Healing and Memory

• Michael Melton describes being forever changed, but ultimately finding a path to forgiveness and sobriety.
• Janelle’s loss is still deeply felt by former colleagues and students, who remember her inspiration and compassion.
• Notable Quotes:

  “She always saw the best in people and she always saw their potential. I miss her. I guess I’ll always miss her.”
  —Friend/Colleague of Janelle, [40:47]

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Key Timestamps & Memorable Moments

• [00:57 – 03:41] — Tributes to Janelle’s positive spirit from friends, colleagues, and students
• [06:36 – 08:08] — Michael finds Janelle’s body and calls 911
• [16:19 – 18:32] — Michael’s alienation and the impact suspicion has on his life
• [21:41] — Michael’s lowest point: “That was the only time in my life I ever contemplated suicide.”
• [22:04] — DNA breakthrough: lighter links Gregory Jean Baptiste
• [26:31] — Street information reveals mistaken-identity motive
• [33:15 – 34:29] — Elizabeth Pinto’s confession and recreation of the events
• [35:51 – 37:40] — The murder trial and state’s theory presented
• [38:43] — Guilty verdicts are rendered; emotional closure for Michael and Janelle’s colleagues
• [39:47 – 41:00] — Reflections on loss, healing, and Janelle’s lasting impact

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Notable Quotes

• Friend/Colleague: "She taught social studies, had a passion for history, and also knew how to teach it to students to get them interested." [02:52]
• Michael Melton: "Once I got past the anger and I learned how to forgive, then I started learning how to forgive everybody in the situation." [40:27]
• Student: "She always saw the best in people and she always saw their potential... The pain and anguish has diminished, but the missing her, that’s still right there." [40:47]

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Conclusion

“A Lesson in Homicide” is a moving examination of the devastation wrought by a single night of violence and the power of perseverance in the face of near-hopeless odds. It explores the ripple effects of suspicion and grief, and underscores how justice sometimes arrives only after years of suffering and stubborn pursuit. Most of all, it serves as a tribute to Janelle Melton—a teacher whose legacy endures in the friends, colleagues, and students she inspired.

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Transcript

[Detective Scott Sammis]

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[Narrator]

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[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

I remember meeting Janelle. She was so excited and bubbly that it was infect. Couldn't help but smile. And when she came to my house it was like the sun came in. And when she was taken, the son left for a while. When somebody you love is killed and there's no justice, there's no conviction. I don't want to say I was walking in a dream because it was more like walking in a nightmare. As the years went on, I started doubting whether she would ever have justice.

[Narrator]

There are 120,000 unsolved murders in America. Each one is a cold case. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's Monday morning, September 14, 2009 and the start of a brand new week at Red Bank Middle School in Red Bank, New Jersey. Teacher Janelle Melton has something special planned for her fifth grade students. A guest speaker of sorts. Children excitedly shuffle into the classroom, but Janelle isn't there. Michael Melton, Janelle's former husband, recalls what Janelle had planned for class that morning.

[Michael Melton]

School had been in session for a couple weeks and President Obama had did a speech about education. She was going to bring her class to my class and we were going to play the speech inside the classroom.

[Narrator]

One of her students is Nasir Rountree.

[Michael Melton]

Mrs. Melton wanted to show us that we can be a part of history and she actually attended the inauguration for Barack Obama.

[Narrator]

Janelle had earlier shared a photograph of herself at the inauguration with her students. Her friend and colleague Toni Merritt Graham remembers Janelle's excitement.

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

You could see the sense of wonder and pride on her face and the of sense seriousness. Oh, she was going to that inauguration, if she had to walk, she was going, you hear me? Janelle taught social studies, had a passion for history, and also knew how to teach it to students to get them interested. She would learn all the quirky facts about the different people that she was teaching. And her enthusiasm about history, it transferred to the students. They loved it. She was adamant, I'm going to be the teacher of the year. She was writing lesson plans in August. She was talking and thinking in terms of how she was going to implement lessons. It was inspiring.

[Narrator]

Janelle and Michael both grew up in Trenton. Her elementary school was just down the road from his family home.

[Michael Melton]

And I used to talk loaded junk to her and, you know, flirt with her a little bit, things of that nature. Once I graduated from college and I started working as a counselor for school based youth service, and she was also a teacher. And I saw her, I was like, wow, she looking good. So, like, you know what I mean? I'm fresh out of college. I'm a bachelor, so I feel like I'm living a life. Like, I'm like, what's up with her?

[Narrator]

Michael falls for Janell hard, and he leaves his bachelor life behind.

[Michael Melton]

She was the one, and I felt like I should put a ring on her hand. Me and Janelle got married in Jamaica August 28, 2003. We had a ceremony in Jamaica at sandals and ocho Rios, and we had about 30 people. It was beautiful, man. I was still young then, though. I was like 27, 28. She was one year younger than me, so she had to be about 26. I was excited and stuff, like, I'm really married.

[Narrator]

Michael and Janelle settle down in Neptune city, where they're both employed as teachers at red bank middle school. Janelle's former student, Kadiah Smith, remembers them well.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

Ms. Melton, she was always very happy, A happy go lucky woman. While Mr. Melton, he was very chill. He was very laid back, very well put together. They were definitely like yin and yang.

[Narrator]

With a happy home life and rewarding careers, it looks as though Janelle and Michael have a solid foundation. But just three years into their marriage, that foundation begins to crack.

[Michael Melton]

She cared about me tremendously. I had never met nobody that was so into me like that. Whatever I needed, she was right there. But the way I was raised, later on, it kind of made me feel uncomfortable because I wasn't used to that much affection. So it was more of me being immature and not really being able to handle that kind of love and the responsibility of being a husband. That's why I filed for divorce. Most of the people probably thought that she wanted to divorce me, but she wouldn't have never left me. She told me that once the relationship had got to a certain point, she felt comfortable where she had her own space. You know what I'm saying? And I respected that. So we still saw each other all the time, and we talked on the phone every day.

[Narrator]

The school bell rings, marking the beginning of the school day. But Janelle still hasn't arrived. Hours pass, and there's still no sign of Janelle. The school secretary asks michael if he's heard from her. Even though they aren't still together, they remain close friends. Michael tells the secretary that he hasn't spoken to her. She then asks Michael to check on his former wife at her home in Neptune City. Around 20 minutes away, Michael pulls up outside Janelle's home, and he sees her car parked in front of the house. He feels a wave of relief because he knows that Janelle is home.

[Michael Melton]

So I'm thinking, I'm just gonna bang on this door, yell out her name, tell her to get up, and tell her to go to work. I yelled out her name. It was no answer. And then I tried the doorknob, and the door was open. And I went in, and I was still yelling out her name, Yelling out her name. And I made the quick left to go to the room. And then when I walked in the room, that's when I saw her on the floor. When I found her, she had her nightgown on. And I saw a little bit of blood at the top of the nightgown. And her face looked like it had makeup on it. So I immediately thought that she fell when she was doing her makeup. And then that's when I picked up the phone, And I called 911. And I told them to hurry up and come over. And I was asking her, like, what did you do? What did you do? What did you do? I remember saying that. Cause I thought that since we were separated, she couldn't handle it, and she had did something to herself.

[Narrator]

Paramedics arrive at Janelle's apartment Within one minute of Michael's phone call. Michael was pacing back and forth in the bedroom as paramedics assist Janelle.

[Michael Melton]

He felt her neck, and then that's when he told me she was dead. Then that's when I just, like, dropped on my knees. I started crying. Then he said, you got to get out of here. I guess because it's a crime scene now. It was, like, surreal, Like I was living a movie. I Couldn't believe it. I just started screaming.

[Narrator]

A shell. Shocked Michael calls Red Bank Middle School and breaks the terrible news to Janelle's co workers.

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

We drove to her apartment and I saw the yellow tape and I said, oh my God. I started screaming, oh my God. I said, somebody hurt her. This is a crime scene.

[Narrator]

Deputy Chief of Detectives with Monmouth County Prosecutor's office Albert DeAngelis receives a phone call.

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

That morning I worked as the supervising lieutenant in charge of the forensic unit. I received a call from the local departments that they had come in contact with a deceased woman in an apartment complex.

[Narrator]

He's directed to Brighton Arms Apartments. Janelle's apartment is a garden style apartment. It's a two story building and Janelle lived on the first floor. Her apartment is accessible from a common walkway. With just a quick look at the crime scene, detectives believe that they're searching for at least one male, most likely multiple. Lieutenant Detective Scott Sammis explains further.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Because of how physical the crime scene was, how brutal it was, we believed it was a male. More than one.

[Narrator]

It's discovered by detectives that Janelle's killers have gained entry by forcing open a window in the kitchen dinette area. Directly underneath the window, they find a chair that has a distinctive footprint which had come from somebody coming through the window. The kitchen area is completely ransacked with the refrigerator door open. Even the contents of the refrigerator have been rifled through.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

The kitchen cabinets were open. The closets went through, they had gone through cereal boxes. Somebody was looking for something.

[Narrator]

Detectives theorize that Janelle was killed in her bedroom during the late night hours of September 13th. The scene at Janelle's apartment is gruesome enough to traumatize even the most seasoned homicide detectives.

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

It was evident to the detectives involved that Jonelle Melton was the victim of a brutal beating and she was tortured. And in our opinion, these injuries were caused over time until her death in an attempt to get either information or something from her. Ultimately, without leaving witnesses, they shot her through the head and killed her.

[Narrator]

Forensic experts are called to the apartment and they scour the scene in search of items that could be telltale clues.

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

Throughout the house. We noticed that there were no candles. We know that the victim was not a smoker. There were no cigarettes, there were no ashtrays. But at the base of that window, we located a pink colored lighter. And the lighter itself seemed to be out of place. There was that piece of gray colored duct tape. It appeared that it was used in a manner that could potentially have been a binding and it had Obvious signs of blood staining on it. And located near Jonelle Melton's body were used latex gloves. They were collected for evidence and submitted to the laboratory for examination.

[Narrator]

While evidence inside the apartment is collected to be analyzed, detectives head outside to speak with a distraught Michael. Chief of police Matthew Quagligato explains why Michael needed to be interviewed.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

Michael was the soon to be ex husband. He was the first one to discover her body. He was close with her, so I'm sure the detectives wanted to get a feel for what he was thinking about her at the time.

[Narrator]

After some routine questions, Michael is asked to come down to police headquarters for further questioning.

[Michael Melton]

At first, the detectives started out like they was trying to get information to ask me about our relationship. And then when I started answering the questions and telling them, then they started getting a little, like, a little invasive. I don't want to offend you or anything, and I know this is a little personal, but, like, were you guys still sexually involved like that?

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

Sometimes.

[Michael Melton]

Sometimes, yeah. But I still loved her, but I just knew that once we got into the marriage thing, it wasn't gonna be. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

[Narrator]

Detectives inform Michael about the ransacking of the apartment. He tells them that he didn't even notice the disarray in the apartment.

[Michael Melton]

I think once I saw her, everything else just shut down. Even if they was trying to come off to me like crazy and stuff, I just still was answering their questions because I knew I didn't do nothing.

[Narrator]

Michael tells detectives that on the night of Janelle's murder, he was visiting a friend. Later that same night, he went to his girlfriend's home. Michael agrees to give a voluntary DNA sample and then leaves police headquarters to grieve with family and friends. Meanwhile, detectives make their next moves. They check out Michael's alibi for the night of Janelle's murder and continue to search her apartment for evidence that could lead to her killers.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

There were forensics detectives outside in dumpsters, behind bushes, just trying to find any type of evidence they could.

[Narrator]

When detectives speak with Michael's girlfriend, she confirms that he was at home that night, verifying his alibi. Michael's phone records also place him miles away from Janelle's apartment the night that she was killed. Detectives are confident that Michael is not involved in Janelle's slaying.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

There was no reason for Michael to ever be involved in anything like this. He still had a wonderful relationship with Janelo. Although they were ex spouses, they didn't act like ex spouses. They had a really nice personal and working relationship.

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[Narrator]

Detectives might have moved on from Michael as A person of interest. But the media hasn't. They latch onto Michael as a suspect in Janelle's murder and divulge details of their upcoming divorce finalization.

[Michael Melton]

Now, all of this time, I'm thinking that I'm being truthful in helping them, like telling them everything they needed to know. And then two days later, when a newspaper article came out, that's when I knew that something was wrong. It says she was found. It didn't say who found her. In the last paragraph, it said she was estranged from her husband. And when I saw the word estranged, I said, whoa. Then it said their divorce was supposed to be final October 6th. And this was, like, September 16th. So now I'm like, oh, my God. They trying to say I killed her.

[Narrator]

One week after Janelle is found shot dead in her apartment, friends, family, and colleagues gather to say their final goodbyes. A lot of Janelle's students also attend, including Nasir.

[Michael Melton]

They actually shut school down for the funeral. When we went in, that's when it all became real for me. I'm sitting in the front, look down the aisle, and the three detectives is walking down the aisle. Terror just went through me. I was scared. They just walked past and shook my hand and gave my condolences. But then they was in the lobby area talking to her different friends, asking them different stuff and this and that. And I just felt that that was so disrespectful.

[Narrator]

After the funeral, Michael takes steps to defend himself.

[Michael Melton]

Then one of my friends, he was an attorney, and he said that they're gonna try to pin this on you. I'm gonna represent you pro bono. Don't say nothing to nobody. Don't talk to them no more or anything.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

I can understand why Michael Mellon had an attorney, because the way he was treated in the beginning as a suspect.

[Michael Melton]

All eyes is on me. Everybody turned against me. When I get back to work, it's a memo on my desk, and the memo says, you are not allowed to go into any schools, and you can't have no contact with kids. Then I lost it. I just was like, why are y' all treating me like a criminal? I didn't do anything. Like, why are y' all doing this to me?

[Narrator]

With his attorney in tow, Michael meets with school officials to discuss his employment. He agrees to take a desk job while the investigation into Janell's murder continues.

[Michael Melton]

Now, the school is right behind the board of education. So I'm seeing these kids, but I can't go into the school, and I can't have no contact with Them.

[Narrator]

Two months after Janell's murder, DNA testing is complete on the duct tape found at the crime scene. The results do very little to assist in Michael's defense. In fact, they do the opposite.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

The evidence came back. The duct tape found in the hallway came back to Mike Mellon.

[Narrator]

The DNA testing determines that there were two contributors of DNA on the duct tape. Janell and Michael. Detectives believe that the duct tape was used to bind Jenelle to a chair before she was killed. Michael has an explanation for his DNA being on the duct tape.

[Michael Melton]

The day I found Johnel, my sneaker got caught on the duct tape. So then when I pulled the duct tape off of my shoe, that's how my DNA got found on the duct tape.

[Narrator]

Michael was checking to see if Janell was alive. Forensic testing on the crime scene evidence is murky. There is no clear cut answer on the boot print found on the chair. And forensic experts are unable to lift a usable fingerprint from the latex gloves.

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

In the case of the cigarette lighter, DNA able evidence was recovered, but they were unable to identify who the major contributor was on that item. As a result, I requested that we transport that evidence to the New York City medical examiner's office for additional DNA analysis. They had great advances in DNA analysis, and we were able to, on occasion, either exclude or include a potential donor.

[Narrator]

While detectives wait for the DNA results on the lighter, they take a second look at some of the tips they received early on in the investigation.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

Well, back in 2009, Brighton Arms was generally safe. So everyone was really shocked, especially the residents who have lived there for years.

[Narrator]

In one instance, one of the neighbors believed he heard a loud noise on the night Janelle was killed. Nevertheless, he didn't call the police. Another lady living two doors down from Janelle was awoken that night by her dogs barking. She looked out the window to see somebody in the back of the apartment complex. She too, failed to call the police.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

The thought of knowing that there were individuals that actually knew or had some sort of idea of what had happened, it made me question, like, how do you know these things but hold on to them.

[Michael Melton]

I was actually angered at the fact that no one was caught or no one witnessed anything or, you know, no one came forward. And for us not to have any answers, I was. There were so many emotions going through me.

[Narrator]

The case drags on without an arrest, leaving Michael in limbo. His life is engulfed in a dark cloud of suspicion.

[Michael Melton]

Everybody turned against me. Her family turned against me. I knew that they thought I did it. Everywhere you go, you feel like people pointing at you. You feel the chatter. You can't really go to. No. Like football games or basketball games, the grocery stores. Everywhere I went, I felt shame, even though I didn't do nothing. That was the only time in my life I ever contemplated suicide.

[Narrator]

As a coping mechanism, Michael turns to alcohol. Eventually, the months turn into years. And by December 2012, it's been over three years since Janelle was killed. Her family braces for the third holiday season without her. But just a couple of weeks before Christmas, the DNA results on the lighter come back.

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

They were able to identify the major contributor to the DNA as Gregory Jean Baptiste.

[Narrator]

Gregory Jean Baptiste is heavily involved in gangs, specifically the Bloods. He's arrested and brought down to police headquarters to be interviewed.

[Michael Melton]

This is a picture of the young lady. Her name was Janelle Melton. All right. Like I told him. For never seen him.

[Narrator]

Despite the fact that his DNA is found on the lighter at the crime scene, Jean Baptiste denies any involvement in Janelle's murder.

[Michael Melton]

We're trying to say that your DNA is in the scene. Never been there.

[Narrator]

Jean Baptiste acknowledges that the lighter is his, but he denies knowing Janelle or ever being at her apartment. He offers an explanation as to how his DNA was at the apartment. Anyway.

[Michael Melton]

Drugs is my thing.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Good.

[Michael Melton]

You get what I'm saying? I shake a lot of hands when I was doing that. Good.

[Narrator]

The DNA evidence propels Jean Baptiste into the lead suspect in Janelle's murder. But the DNA alone isn't enough to charge him. Without something more, Jean Baptiste will go free.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

Not only do we have to accept the fact that she was murdered, but I have to also accept the fact that there's no justice.

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

This.

[Narrator]

Detectives investigating the murder of Janelle are still interviewing Jean Baptiste. They go around in circles as Jean Baptiste continues to profess his innocence.

[Michael Melton]

All right, man, I'm done, man. You done?

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

Yeah.

[Michael Melton]

Now you just trying to. Trying to what?

[Narrator]

Detectives believe that they have their man and theorize that Jean Baptiste, possibly along with others, murdered Janelle. But they have no way to prove it. Jean Baptiste is released without charge and the murder of Janelle goes cold. Assistant prosecutor Matthew Bogner explains why the evidence wasn't the smoking gun detectives had hoped it was.

[Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner]

The problem with it was it's not DNA on something that was used to harm Janelle. It was found on an otherwise innocent object in another room. You know, it wasn't like a mask or a gun or a knife. It was on a lighter under a window.

[Narrator]

Once Jean Baptiste is released, detectives are determined to reignite the investigation and catch Janelle's killers. They assigned the cold case to two narcotics squad detectives, Scott sammis and Matthew coagliato.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

This case needed a new set of eyes. They needed somebody who was not going to stop until these individuals were brought for justice.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

We reviewed multiple reports. We reviewed the whole case, Basically reopened up everything as it was. Just a brand new case.

[Narrator]

Despite the energy the new detectives bring to the investigation, Fresh leads are difficult to come by. As they pore over old reports and evidence, Michael melton lives his life branded as a killer.

[Michael Melton]

Everywhere I turn, I couldn't get away from it. I see the original detective in the barbershop and he'd still say something to me. So it was going on, like, for years, like that. They just made my life hell, man. And it was nothing I could do about it.

[Narrator]

Michael is fed up with being cloaked in suspicion, and he can't wait for detectives any longer. He reaches out to a friend to help him clear his name.

[Michael Melton]

If something happened in brighton orange, right there, the streets talk. I knew I couldn't go out there and get information from anybody Because I'm not from there. So I knew he could. He called this guy over and he told the guy, like, yo, this my man's. He just want to know what happened to his wife. It's driving him crazy. We came back two days later and the guy told me what happened.

[Narrator]

Michael's friend doesn't reveal the killer's names, but he does reveal crucial details about the night that Janelle was killed. Michael wants to immediately go to detectives to disclose what he has learned. But cooperating with police has its risks.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

I truly believe it comes back to gang intimidation and people not wanting to come forward because either they don't trust the cops or they believe that the cops are going to put them in a bad predicament where certainly their lives and their family lives could be put at task.

[Narrator]

Despite the danger, Michael tells detectives what he knows. According to Michael's source, the killers were not after janell. On the night of the murder. Information from the street reveals that individual gang members were looking to rob a man by the name of David munch who lived next door to janelle.

[Michael Melton]

The guy next door to her had $15,000 in the freezer and some drugs in the house. And the girlfriend was running her mouth at a party, and some stick up kids heard her at the party, so they came to rob their house, and then they went to the wrong house. And then I guess they assumed that johnel was the girlfriend. Now, I knew that Somebody else besides me knew I didn't have nothing to do with it. You get what I'm saying? Because people could say they believe you, but now somebody else besides me I knew, knew that.

[Narrator]

Michael's cooperation with the police might pay off. The theory that the killers went to the wrong apartment makes sense to detectives working the case.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

The way Brighton Arms is set up, the apartments all look the same. Every window from every apartment is the same. It's extremely hard from that backside to identify what apartment is the exact apartment that you're looking for.

[Narrator]

Detectives know that the target was David Munch, but that only gets them so far. They still have no idea who the killers are.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

We were working 12 hour days, but we were moving forward and documenting all the individuals we were speaking with. And I continued to hit the streets and my confidential sources that I had used in the past for information.

[Narrator]

Finally, the hard work pays off. An informant gives detectives the name of three men who allegedly kill Janelle. The informant also names a fourth person, a woman who was the getaway driver.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

The information coming into me was that these individuals, Ebenezer Byrd, Gregory, Jean Baptiste, and Jerry sprawleding with a female, committed this horrific homicide. They were in gangs, specifically the Bloods. The different sets were different at the times, but certainly Ebenezer Byrd was running this group, and he continued to run the group when he was in prison.

[Narrator]

Jean Baptiste, Byrd, and Spralding all deny that they had anything to do with Janelle's murder. And as long as the three men stick to their stories, then detectives can't charge them with anything. That is, unless they can find a witness who can place them at the crime scene.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Eventually, I get a phone call from a number on my phone that I don't recognize, and it's a family member from a girl named Norika Scott. Now, Norika Scott was also a girlfriend of Ebenezer Bird.

[Narrator]

According to the informant, Bird is one of the killers. If Byrd and Norika are in a relationship, then there's a chance that. That she could confirm the informant's story or at least give the detective something else that could help crack the case.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

It was key for me to identify the driver who drove these individuals to the crime scene.

[Michael Melton]

You want me to leave? You want to go home or you want to go to County?

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

I don't really give a damn what happened.

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[Narrator]

It's now been six years since Janelle was killed, and detectives are finally getting somewhere. Detectives Scott Sammis and Matthew Quagliato want to question Norika Scott, the girlfriend of Byrd. Norika's father brings her down to police headquarters to be interviewed. Her father is concerned because he knows the relationship she has with Bird and he knows that the unsolved murder of Janelle is hot in the media. The conversation between Norika and her father is recorded as they sit down in the interrogation room.

[Michael Melton]

You need to talk. I'm here. I could have stayed home. They could have came.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

Maybe you should step out because you're me up putting me under way more pressure than I'm already under in my ear. Dad, do you understand how I'm speaking?

[Michael Melton]

I'm smarter than you.

[Narrator]

The interaction between Norika and her father speak volumes.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

The video shows her cooperation, how scared she is. It's so important that you tell me the truth because she's relying on it. All right, I want you to look at her. I want you to understand.

[Michael Melton]

Okay.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Norika said that when she was at a prison visit with Ebenezer Byrd, he had confessed to her that him, Gregory Jean Baptiste, Jerry Sprawling were involved in the murder of Janelle Melton.

[Narrator]

Norika gives detectives the name of the alleged getaway driver, Elizabeth Pinto. Pinto was a former girlfriend of Byrd and she is brought to police headquarters to be questioned.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

If Elizabeth Pinto was there when this Crime took place. It was so important for us to corroborate this information if in fact she's the driver. How you holding up?

[Michael Melton]

You all right?

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Matt and I bring her to one of the Perth Amboy police departments, and we go live. And probably the most important interview of my life. So tell me about in September, early September, what happens.

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

You could see there's a little bit of fear in her eyes. She is very trembly in her voice. She's very standoffish. She really doesn't want to talk about it.

[Narrator]

Pinto eventually breaks down and admits that she was the getaway driver.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

They all get dressed up in black, as they know of them before, and they tell me to drop them off. I drop them off at a location.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Let's slow it down a little bit. I go over with pictures of these guys. Who's this? That's Ebenezer Byrd. Who's this? Gregory Jean Baptiste.

[Detective Albert DeAngelis]

Who's this?

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Jerry. Sprawling. And you continue to have her ID these guys. Where did they tell you where they were going?

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

They just told me to drive. They told me where to go.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

Is there anything else you wanted to add?

[Narrator]

I'm sorry that this happened to them.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

I'm sorry I couldn't say it sooner.

[Narrator]

The confession is massive. Elizabeth Pinto pleads guilty to conspiracy. As part of her plea agreement, she enters into an agreement through which she has to cooperate and testify against the other defendants. Pinto goes one step further and offers to show detectives exactly what happened the night Janelle was killed. She tells detectives that during their drive over to Janelle's apartment, Byrd, Jean Baptiste, and Spralding all put on latex gloves. From the description of the gloves, they sound exactly like the ones that were found at the crime scene.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

She said she parked up on the area where this white van is going now, and she says that she sees them walking across towards Brighton Arms right there. It's a direct path of where Brighton Arms 2 was and where Janelle Melton was living at the time. Elizabeth Pinto says that she stays there for a while, and then after approximately 10 to 15 minutes, all three individuals come back running.

[Narrator]

Pinto's statements establish her as a rock solid witness. Cell phone data also corroborate her account, placing Byrd, Jean Baptiste, and Sprawling at the apartment complex. The night of the murder, their cell phones were pinging to various phone towers in the area, leaving behind a GPS trail. It's enough for detectives to make an arrest. Gregory, Jean Baptiste, Jerry Spralding, and Ebenezer Byrd are all charged with first degree felony murder, second degree robbery. Conspiracy and unlawful weapons charges. All three men maintain that they are innocent of Janelle's murder.

[Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner]

They were going to be charged with felony murder based on the fact that she was killed in the course of a robbery. They broke into Janelle's apartment and were attempting to rob her, and that's why she was killed. She was a valued member of the community, and no one deserves for this to happen to them. But of all people, it's the fact that it happened to Janelle. It's even worse.

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

When this happened, it was like it reignited me, like, you know, like my hope, like, wow, you mean she could get justice?

[Chief of Police Matthew Quagliato]

We knew this was the trial of our lifetime. We absolutely knew that we came this far to make the arrests, and we wanted to put full justice for Janell.

[Narrator]

The murder trial begins in January 2019, nine years and four months after Janelle was killed in her apartment. Monmouth county prosecutors have a solid case against the three defendants. Their starwit is Elizabeth Pinto, who tells the jury that she was with the three men the night Janelle was killed. Michael is seated in the courtroom.

[Michael Melton]

I'm walking, and then I see the three guys over here on the left. I see their attorneys, and then I see the jury, and then I go up and sit down, and it's like, wow, this is real.

[Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner]

Throughout the trial, there's contentious motions going on between the defense and the state. They tried to make it look like Mike Milton did it, and that really didn't happen based on the evidence. Police tested so many different items of evidence and went through so much forensic testing, and yet still the defense says, well, what about this? They didn't test this or they didn't do that. They could have done this. What if, you know, that type of thing. So we had to counteract that.

[Narrator]

The prosecutors tell the jury what they believe happened the night Janelle was killed.

[Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner]

So the night of September 13th into September 14th, Janelle was home by. At that same time, Elizabeth Pinto is going over to Ebenezer Bird's mom's house in Asbury park, where she finds Bird, Jean Baptiste, and Sproulding getting ready for what they're about to do. They drive over. She parks the car. They tell her to wait for them. Two of them break in through the back. Jean Baptiste goes in through the window, drops the lighter, steps on the chair, leaves a footprint, and then walks down, opens a sliding glass door so the second person can get in. Now there's multiple. Multiple of them in the apartment. They find Janelle in the bedroom, find her. They hold her down they're looking for money in Munch's freezer, and they're not finding it. And then finally, when they realize that they're in the wrong place, they shoot her in the head and they leave her for dead.

[Narrator]

DNA found on the lighter puts Jean Baptiste at the scene. GPS records from the men's phones all place him at the scene. And Pinto's eyewitness testimony brings everything together.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

I drove them to, I guess you could say, steal some money that we. Well, not we, that they heard was in an apartment. And all three of them got out the car and went on their way, you know, into the apartment complex. And I didn't see them for a little bit after that.

[Narrator]

Gregory, Jean Baptiste, Ebenezer Bird, and Jerry Spralding are all found guilty of first degree murder, robbery, conspiracy, and weapons charges. A fourth man, James Fair, pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.

[Detective Scott Sammis]

James Fair was guilty for spreading the word to other gang members that there was money in David Munch's apartment.

[Michael Melton]

Once I heard the first guilty, I just knew that it was gonna be guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. Then it was just like, yes. I remember doing that fist bump thing. Like, real happy, like, yes, like, it's over. And the verdict came down on my birthday.

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

When I heard it, I was at school. I couldn't contain myself. I ran into the principal's office who had a relationship with Janelle and loved her. And I told her, and we just started hugging and crying. We just started hugging and crying.

[Narrator]

Gregory Jean Baptiste, Ebenezer Byrd, and Jerry Spralding are all sentenced to life in prison. Despite their convictions, they all maintain their innocence. In exchange for her testimony, Elizabeth Pinto is allowed to plead guilty to conspiracy and is sentenced to probation. James Fair is currently serving an 82 year sentence for previous convictions on 78 unrelated crimes. He's eligible for parole in 2065.

[Michael Melton]

On that day, 2009, two people died. Not only she died, but I died too, because I wasn't the same person after that. It makes me feel, like, sad that I wasn't there to protect her. What people fail to realize. I got in this situation trying to do the right thing. I hit my bottom with alcoholism and I had to go back to rehab. I found out I had a disease and I did the steps and I had my spiritual awakening. It totally changed my life. Like, I could see the world different than I ever could see it before in my life. Once I got past the anger and I learned how to forgive, then I started learning how to forgive. Everybody in the situation.

[Narrator]

Michael isn't the only one who holds tightly to the fond memories of Janelle. Her students do as well.

[Student or Acquaintance of Janelle Melton]

I've succeeded, you know, I went off to college, I made it, and I'm just like, I wish that she was here for me to share these experiences with her, to share these memories, to share these stories with her.

[Friend or Colleague of Janelle Melton]

She was somebody that I knew was in this world that knew me and still loved me. She always saw the best in people and she always saw their potential. I miss her. I guess I'll always miss her. Here we are, like 12 years, something like that. The pain and anguish has diminished, but the missing her, that's still right there. It's right there.

[Narrator]

Cold Case Files is hosted by Paula Barros. It's produced by the Law and Crime Network and written by Eileen McFarlane and Emily G. Thompson. Our composer is Blake Maples. For A and E, our senior producer is John Thrasher and our supervising producer is McKamey Lin. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Maite Cueva and Peter Tarshis. This podcast is based on A and E's Emmy winning TV series Cold Case Files. For more Cold case files, visit aetv.com. Pluto TV has thousands of free movies and TV shows.

[Michael Melton]

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[Michael Melton]

You're welcome.

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