Carmen “CJ” DeLuca (Wild Card, Connecticut)

Summary

Summary of "Carmen 'CJ' DeLuca (Wild Card, Connecticut)" - The Deck Podcast

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Deck
• Host/Author: audiochuck
• Episode: Carmen “CJ” DeLuca (Wild Card, Connecticut)
• Release Date: June 18, 2025

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Introduction

In this poignant episode of The Deck, host audiochuck delves into the cold case of Carmen “CJ” DeLuca, a 23-year-old gas station attendant whose life was tragically cut short in a seemingly senseless shooting in East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1985. Utilizing the unique approach of presenting cold cases through playing cards, The Deck aims to shed light on forgotten crimes by encouraging listeners to contribute information that could lead to justice for the victims.

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The Crime

September 12, 1985 - East Windsor, Connecticut

Carmen "CJ" DeLuca, a young and engaged gas station attendant, was working the night shift at Gas N Save when he was fatally shot. On that fateful night, CJ had recently taken over the overnight shift after firing the usual attendant, making his murder stand out amidst a series of violent robberies targeting Connecticut gas stations.

[02:58] Ashley Flowers: "Our card this week is Carmen CJ DeLuca, a Deck wildcard gas station attendant... but 40 years later, police are still waiting for that one person with more information to come forward to finally help them bring his killer to justice."

The Initial Investigation

CJ’s murder scene was puzzling. The initial assumption was a robbery gone wrong, but evidence told a different story. Investigators found a single gunshot wound to CJ's back, but no cash was taken. The cash register remained full, and only two boomboxes were missing. Most notably, a footprint consistent with Adidas sneakers and a dropped hat were the primary clues.

[05:16] Dena Prest: "I tried to call the station and it just rang and rang and rang and you just get that feeling right?"

CJ's fiancée, Dena Prest, received a mysterious phone call from an unfamiliar voice around 3 AM, which heightened her concerns. Her subsequent visit to the gas station revealed the grim reality of CJ's death, leaving her and the community in shock.

A Second Shooting - Linking the Cases

As detectives probed CJ's murder, another similar incident occurred just an hour away in Orange, Connecticut. A man named Craig Sutton survived a shooting during a robbery at an A.M.P.M. gas station, providing a critical eyewitness account.

[11:32] Ashley Flowers: "The man who was shot in the second incident told police that his name was Craig Sutton."

Craig described his assailant as a young black man, approximately 5’8” to 6’ tall, thin, and wearing a black hat and a leather jacket. A hat found at the East Windsor scene later matched his description, leading detectives to believe the two shootings were connected.

Developing Leads and Potential Suspects

Ballistic evidence revealed that both CJ and Craig were shot with .38 caliber bullets from the same firearm, deepening the connection between the two cases. A state Police Major Crimes unit was brought in to investigate, but progress was slow until a confidential informant provided names: William Spikes and Douglas Whitehead.

[18:06] Craig Sutton: "The informant further stated that Spikes had told him that... he had shot that boy."

Both men had recent criminal histories and were known associates, making them prime suspects. However, as time passed, Whitehead died in 1994, and Craig Sutton himself passed away, complicating the investigation.

Stalled Investigation and Evidence Loss

Detective Scott Roberts revisited the case in 2014, hoping new technologies like DNA analysis could provide breakthroughs. Unfortunately, crucial evidence, including the hat left at the scene, had been destroyed due to policy limitations related to the statute of limitations on related robberies.

[25:06] Ashley Flowers: "It turns out that hat had been destroyed."

Roberts faced significant challenges, including the death of key witnesses and suspects, and a lack of preserved evidence, which left the case at a standstill.

Renewed Efforts and Detective Roberts' Pursuit

Undeterred, Detective Roberts continued to seek out any leads, including interviewing Spikes, who admitted to involvement in robberies but denied knowledge of CJ’s murder.

[29:42] Ashley Flowers: "But he didn't admit to knowing anything about CJ's murder."

Despite extensive efforts, no one came forward with new information, and the case remained unsolved for decades.

Dena Prest's Quest for Justice

Throughout the years, Dena Prest remained a steadfast advocate for uncovering the truth behind CJ's murder. She continued to push detectives for answers, even sharing the burden with her family and involving her children in the pursuit.

[34:00] Dena Prest: "I don't know if I've actually let my mind go there. It's just. It feels like too much to hope for."

Her relentless determination underscores the emotional toll and the enduring hope that someone, somewhere, might still hold the key to solving this tragic case.

Current Status and Call to Action

As the 40th anniversary of CJ’s murder approaches, Detective Roberts emphasizes the need for new information to finally bring closure to CJ’s family. Despite the numerous hurdles, the investigation remains open, and law enforcement continues to seek anyone with pertinent information.

[35:45] Ashley Flowers: "Investigators are still looking to talk to anyone who has information about Carmen CJ DeLuca's death."

Listeners are encouraged to reach out to the Connecticut Cold Case Unit if they have any details that could aid in resolving this long-standing mystery.

[35:45] Ashley Flowers: "If you know anything, please contact the Connecticut Cold case unit at 1-866-623805 or you can email them at cold.case@.ct.gov."

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Conclusion

The episode of The Deck meticulously unpacks the complexities and challenges surrounding the unsolved murder of Carmen “CJ” DeLuca. Through detailed narration and compelling interviews, the podcast not only recounts the events but also highlights the relentless pursuit of justice by both law enforcement and the victim’s loved ones. As decades pass, the hope remains that new advancements and collective efforts may one day bring the truth to light and provide the closure that CJ’s family desperately seeks.

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Notable Quotes:

• Dena Prest [05:16]: "I tried to call the station and it just rang and rang and rang and you just get that feeling right?"
• Craig Sutton [09:29]: "You don't typically get that in sleepy Connecticut in two separate towns that aren't known for having a lot of shootings."
• Detective Roberts [23:27]: "This was the only time when you're a detective that you actually have time to look into these things."
• Craig Sutton [25:06]: "The hat essentially was extremely important. I really thought that that was the key."
• Dena Prest [34:31]: "It's just. It feels like one of those things that you want to take care of before you can."
• Craig Sutton [35:06]: "And if the person who was deceased was responsible for it, at least we could bring closure to it."

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

Hi everyone. Ashley Flowers here. If you love diving into mysteries and exploring the unexplained, but sometimes wonder if the answers lie just beyond the edge of what we know, your next listen should be so Supernatural. Every week I handpick the most bizarre, mind bending mysteries for my friends Rasha and Yvette to look into. From eerie disappearances to encounters that defy exploitation, Rasha and Yvette dive deep into every possibility paranormal, scientific and everything in between. So if you're ready to explore the unknown, then join us on so supernatural. Over 100 episodes are available now and new stories are explored every Friday. Listen to so Supernatural now wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Jerry]

Welcome back to Listen to youo Heart. I'm Jerry and I'm Jerry's Heart.

[Ashley Flowers]

Today's Repatha Evolocumab Heart.

[Craig Sutton]

Why'd you pick this one?

[Jerry]

Well Jerry, for people who have had a heart attack like us, diet and exercise might not be enough to lower the risk of another one. Okay, to help know if we're at risk, we should be getting our ldlc, our bad cholesterol checked and talking to our doctor.

[Craig Sutton]

I'm listening.

[Jerry]

And if it's still too high, Repatha can be added to a statin to lower our LDL C and our heart attack risk.

[Ashley Flowers]

Hmm.

[Craig Sutton]

Guess it's time to ask about Repatha.

[Ashley Flowers]

Do not take Repatha if you are allergic to it.

[Unknown]

Serious allergic reactions can occur.

[Ashley Flowers]

Get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing or swallowing, swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat or arms.

[Unknown]

Common side effects include runny nose, sore.

[Ashley Flowers]

Throat, common cold symptoms, flu or flu.

[Unknown]

Like symptoms, back pain, high blood sugar.

[Ashley Flowers]

And redness, pain or bruising at the injection site.

[Craig Sutton]

Listen to your heart.

[Jerry]

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[Ashley Flowers]

Our card this week is Carmen CJ DeLuca A Deck wildcard gas station attendant Carmen DeLuca was just 23 years old and recently engaged when he was shot to death in the middle of his night shift in 1985. His murder was part of a spree of crimes at other Connecticut gas stations. And there were clues that held an Adidas sneaker print, a hat dropped by a fleeing assailant, and a confidential informant who seemed to have the answers. But 40 years later, police are still waiting for that one person with more information to come forward to finally help them bring his killer to justice. I'm Ashley Flowers and this is the Deck. Unlike many people, Dina Prest wasn't normally alarmed when the phone rang in the middle of the night. In fact, Dena, who lived with her fiance outside of Springfield, Massachusetts, was used to it. Her fiance, Carmen DeLuca, who went by CJ, managed a 24 hour gas station called the Gas N Save in East Windsor, Connecticut. So if one of the overnight employees needed something, he was the guy they would call. But C.J. was the one manning the register the night of September 12, 1985. He'd recently fired their usual overnight guy and so he was subbing in for him. That made it a little strange when the phone rang at around 3am when she answered, Deena heard an unfamiliar voice asking for cj. She told the person he wasn't home, he was at work. And then the line just went dead. And that made Dino worry. So she picked the phone back up and dialed the gas station. And her worry wasn't for nothing.

[Dena Prest]

I tried to call the station and it just rang and rang and rang and you just get that feeling right?

[Ashley Flowers]

Deena didn't ignore that feeling. She jumped in her car and drove straight to the Gas N Save, which was about a half an hour away and over the Connecticut border.

[Dena Prest]

They come around the corner and it was just surrounded by police cars and such. I don't remember all of what happened in the period following that. It was all very chaotic.

[Ashley Flowers]

The area around the gas station was roped off and police stopped Deena from getting any closer. They told the stunned 22 year old that a man had been found dead inside the gas station. Though Deena's memories are hazy, she remembers one moment clearly as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea that her Fiance was dead. She dialed the phone again, calling CJ's parents.

[Dena Prest]

I remember having trouble getting the words out. It was his father that I talked to, and he just said, I'm on my way.

[Ashley Flowers]

As CJ's parents made the drive to the gas and search, police were collecting whatever information they could. They started by talking to the customer who'd found CJ and who'd called police, a man named Vincent. He told police that he'd been on his way home when he stopped to get gas at around 2.30am There was no attendant outside at the full service station and the pump was off. So he went inside looking for help. And immediately he spotted a young man lying face down on the floor. He couldn't see any obvious injuries or even blood, but as he got closer, he saw a frothy substance on the man's mouth. He ran outside to his car, got a dime for the payphone, and then called for police, who responded to the scene within minutes. Now, Police quickly confirmed C.J. was dead, and a medical examiner determined the cause was a single gunshot wound that entered his back. Police called in the state police major crimes unit, and when detectives scoured the area for evidence, they found a footprint at the scene that they determined was consistent with a specific style of Adidas sneakers. But they didn't find anything else. There were no shell casings and no security footage, being that it was 1985. So as investigators addressed the scene, their first assumption was, of course, a robbery. A night shift store clerk shot while banning the cash register money. Must be the motive. Right, but whoever shot CJ didn't seem to take anything. Except maybe two boomboxes that were missing. There was no sign of a struggle. The drawer in the cash register was still full, and the store's stock of food, lottery tickets, and cigarettes all seemed undisturbed. CJ even still had cash in his pockets. He didn't have an ID with him, though. That's actually why Dena got that terrifying wake up call. Police didn't know who their victim was, so they had tried calling a number that they found for the store manager. While police processed the crime scene, Deena waited for CJ's family in a nearby hotel lobby. By this point, the sun was starting to rise. People were starting to head to work, and police were about to get a call about another crime. A man had called police and said that just before 6am he had walked into a gas station in a town called Orange. This is about an hour from CJ's store. He went in to grab his usual morning coffee and stood waiting at the register for a moment, wondering why no one was behind the counter to ring him up. And that's when suddenly a hand reached up and slammed on the counter. When the customer peered over, he saw the gas station attendant on the ground. And to responding police it was clear, clear that the man had been shot. When they called in the state Police Major Crimes unit, who were already on the scene at CJ station, detectives got this gut feeling right away. The two shootings must be connected. Here's cold case Detective Scott Roberts with the East Windsor PD, who is now lead investigator on CJ's case.

[Craig Sutton]

You don't typically get that in sleepy Connecticut in two separate towns that aren't known for having a lot of shootings. It was just highly likely that they were or could be possibly connected.

[Ashley Flowers]

Some of the detectives working CJ's homicide left East Windsor to go check out the scene in Orange to see if they seemed similar. And they did notice a lot of things in common between the two incidents. Two young men manning the register at gas stations, working alone in the middle of the night who had been shot. But there were a couple of glaring differences. One, money was taken in this second case and two, the victim in that second case was still alive.

[Unknown]

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[Kylie Lowe]

Hi, I'm Kylie Lowe, host of Dark Down East, a true crime podcast unlike any other. Why? Because every case I cover comes from the heart of my home, New England. From the rocky Maine coast to the historic streets of Boston to the quiet corners of Vermont and beyond, I investigate stories filled with untold twists, enduring questions and voices that deserve to be heard. So if you're ready to explore the darker side of New England, join me every week for Dark Down East. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashley Flowers]

The man who was shot in the second incident told police that his name was Craig Sutton. Even with a serious injury, Craig survived and was able to tell police what happened to him. He said that a man had come into the store alone and pulled out a handgun.

[Craig Sutton]

He Pointed it at him and said, this is it. Give me the money. So Craig turned toward the register, opened it, and he hears one gunshot. But he doesn't realize that he's hit. So he grabs a cash drawer, places it on top of the counter. Suspect tells him, hurry up, get me the money or I'll shoot you again. The suspect ran into an open field where he was picked up by a silver colored full size early 70s Cadillac. He entered the passenger side, showing that he was one of two suspects and not the driver.

[Ashley Flowers]

Before Craig collapsed, he tried to take in every detail he could about his attacker. He said he was black, between 5ft 8 and 6ft tall, thin, maybe 18 to 25 years old. And he took note of what he was wearing.

[Craig Sutton]

He was wearing a black silk over his head, commonly referred to as a durag, and a light brown hip length leather jacket with dark pants.

[Ashley Flowers]

Craig also told police that the guy was wearing a black hat when he shot him, but that he saw that hat fall off of his attacker's head as he ran out.

[Craig Sutton]

He was wearing that black painter's cap, but he described it as kind of like a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap, which was recovered.

[Ashley Flowers]

Police found the hat right outside of the gas station laying in the grass. It was taken into evidence and processed as part of Craig's case. But whatever processing was done on the hat was done with 1980s technology. Now they were able to find some hairs, determined that some of those hairs were human, and then they tried to test what was described as a crusty substance on the hat. But none of it resulted in any new information about their suspect. So it was packed away as evidence as police tried other avenues to ID this person. They started by canvassing the area. And while they found witnesses who saw a Cadillac with two men inside, no one got a good look at them. However, they did find out something interesting. An attendant at another local gas station said that he saw a similar Cadillac with at least two people in it driving by his gas station multiple times that night. Almost like they were checking it out to potentially rob. If these were their guys, it seemed like they might be on a spree. The problem is he didn't get a good look at the men either. So investigators were left to go off of Craig's description. They put together a composite sketch and they put that out to the community. If they could identify Craig Shooter, that might mean that they were one step closer to solving CJ's case too. And as CJ's family prepared for his funeral, detectives were trying to connect the dots. Between the two cases, at an autopsy conducted shortly after CJ's death, a bullet was recovered from his body. One bullet in perfect condition had pierced his aorta, lung and liver. Doctors had recovered a bullet from Craig, too. Both were.38 caliber bullets that could have been fired from at least six different kinds of guns, including a Ruger or a Smith and Wesson revolver. Whether it was the same.38 caliber firearm was the big question. So they sent the bullets out to the lab for a more exact comparison. But as they waited for those results, they had yet another incident to investigate. Only two days after CJ and Craig were shot, another a.m. p.m. Convenience store was robbed in the nearby town of Windsor. This attack had a much different mo, though. The clerk told police that a young black man had walked into the store, picked out a can of Pepsi, put it on the counter, shoved her, and then robbed her of about $300. But in this case, he never brought out a gun. The man she saw also jumped into a waiting vehicle that sped off. But this time, police were on their tail. They were called quickly, and officers who were nearby caught up to the suspect's car.

[Craig Sutton]

The suspects engaged the Windsor police in a high speed chase. Chase ended in Hartford. Two suspects were separated after exiting the vehicle once it stopped.

[Ashley Flowers]

And by stop, he means the car crashed. The pair split up, running in different directions and got away. Turns out the car they were in was stolen and had a license plate on it that was stolen from a completely different car. So they had no way to figure out who these guys were. It seemed like detectives might be back to square one. But then, 12 days after CJ's murder, they got what they were looking for. Solid proof that even though CJ wasn't robbed, his death was linked to the second shooting. Ballistics testing confirmed that CJ and Craig were both shot by the exact same gun. Though what kind of.38 caliber gun still remained a mystery as the testing didn't narrow that down. But the bigger question now was who fired it? Even with an eyewitness and a sketch of their suspect, detectives were at a loss. No one was coming forward saying they recognized the guy in the sketch, at least not until October. That's when detectives on the third case sat down with a confidential informant who said they knew who robbed that woman at the ampm. And they know who killed cj. The names they gave were William Spikes and Douglas Whitehead. Both men were from the Hartford area within an hour's drive. Of all three incidents, they both recently had been released from prison. Spikes had served half of his 14 year sentence for manslaughter, and Whitehead had gotten out after serving time for a string of robberies. The two men had known each other since childhood, had served time together in prison, and according to this informant, they were roommates now and had been carrying out robberies in different parts of the state. Now, the detectives who interviewed this informant didn't take note of how this person knew the men, but based on the statement that they gave, Detective Roberts said it seemed like the informant at least knew Spikes well and had this guy's trust. Because apparently Spikes had allegedly taken credit for a few crimes during conversations with this informant, including CJ's murder.

[Craig Sutton]

And the informant further stated that Spikes had told him that. That he and Whitehead robbed an all night gas station in East Windsor right next to the highway, and that Spikes told him that he had shot that boy. That was in quotes. The informant explained that Spikes told him about the East Windsor shooting around the end of September, and that Spikes and Whitehead both wore sneakers which were either Adidas or Puma's, that he had personally saw spikes with the.38 or.357 handguns shortly after the East Windsor homicide.

[Ashley Flowers]

So this was a substantive lead that had legs. Since both men had criminal records, detectives had access to photos and fingerprints for both of them. And when they looked them up, Whitehead's fingerprints placed him at at least one of the stores. The third gas station that had been hit. Remember how the clerk said that the guy grabbed a can of Pepsi before robbing her? Well, that turned out to be a big mistake because that soda can was covered in Prince. Whitehead's Prince. It was also clear from the jump that Whitehead, not Spikes, looked a lot like the guy in the sketch.

[Craig Sutton]

Spikes was an extremely large guy, so you wouldn't mistake him for the description that was given. He was 6 3. He was a big boy. 6 3, 265 pounds, and he looked all of it. He was a big guy.

[Ashley Flowers]

It seemed to police like Spikes was the getaway driver, while Whitehead was in charge of whatever went down inside. By the time police got this information, Whitehead was living in Hartford with his girlfriend. So detectives approached him there and served him with a warrant for the third crime where they had his prints. When they brought him in, Whitehead immediately started talking. He confessed to the third robbery right away, I mean, which they pretty much had him dead to rights on anyway.

[Craig Sutton]

Whitehead indicated that he knew this was coming. He went on to say that he just felt that he was made for the Windsor robbery and expected to be arrested for said crime. Whitehead responded that he knew when he grabbed that can, it was the wrong thing to do.

[Ashley Flowers]

During his confession, he also confirmed the exact amount stolen from the cash drawer. He told police how he and Spikes stole the car that they used that day and then stole plates from another vehicle to disguise the stolen car.

[Craig Sutton]

He pretty much gave it all up.

[Ashley Flowers]

Well, on that one case at least, police said he wasn't as forthcoming about the other two incidents. CJ's murder and the second shooting. He said he didn't kill anyone and he didn't know of Spike's killing anyone. CJ was killed in September, and Whitehead reportedly said that he wasn't even in the state at the time, that he had gotten on a bus to New York City after he robbed the woman at the a.m. pM. And he said he hadn't seen Spikes since, not even to give him his half of money from that robbery. And this part gets a little bit confusing because it seems like maybe a clerical error gave Whitehead an alibi here. So Whitehead is allegedly telling police that he left for New York City right after that Pepsi can clerk shoving robbery. Right. But it seems like investigators at the time took that as a solid alibi for CJ's murder, even though that makes no sense.

[Unknown]

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[Ashley Flowers]

Too many to say here.

[Craig Sutton]

Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, New vehicle discount, Storage discount.

[Ashley Flowers]

How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com autodiscounts restrictions apply. Police noted in their report that Whitehead was already in New York City before CJ's murder. But the Pepsi can robbery was the third one. Two days after CJ's murder and Craig's shooting. Meaning that Whitehead wasn't in New York yet when CJ was killed. He didn't even have an alibi at all. Whitehead ended up being charged with the one robbery that he admitted to, and he went back to prison. Until 1990, Spikes was never even interviewed about Craig or CJ's shootings. And that Was it? Even though there weren't any investigative leads pointing to any other suspects, it seems like the investigation just stalled there. It wasn't until 2014 that Detective Roberts took a fresh look at a bunch of cold cases, including CJ's. I mean, his seemed so close, like if he could just dedicate the time, he could solve this case once and for all. And at this point, he was a new detective, so he was in a unique position. He didn't have a backlog of cases yet.

[Craig Sutton]

And it's the only time when you're a detective that you actually have time to look into these things. Because once you start the detective position rolling, the cases never stop. The follow ups never stopped. So this was me with a fresh, clean slate. And I'm like, you know what? I want to take a look at that. When I looked at it initially, I'm like, this has some solvability factors. Like, this would be really cool to bring this across the finish line for this family. You know, you look at the case overall and you start saying, okay, what do I have for evidence? What do I have for witnesses? What do I have for leads? What's the solvability factors? And that's how you kind of approach these cold cases. And you start seeing things like that hat, that hat that was left behind. You're like, I need to get my hands on that hat. Because with new technology, with DNA, I mean, there's a high likelihood that we could get something.

[Ashley Flowers]

We've had evidence text tell us before that hats are particularly great for DNA. Hair can be left in them, skin can collect around the interior. Detective Roberts hoped that new technology could forensically link Whitehead to Craig shooting. And if it did, CJ's wouldn't be a far reach. So excited, he went to go find the hat to have it retested. But we probably wouldn't be here if that had worked, right? It turns out that hat had been destroyed.

[Craig Sutton]

The hat essentially was extremely important. I really thought that that was the key. If we could find that hat with today's technology, might be a partial profile, but we'll get something off of it. It could have been a game changer.

[Ashley Flowers]

Since the hat was found at the scene of Craig's shooting, not CJ's murder. It was only classified in association with a robbery, and evidence pertaining to robberies has a statute of limitations in Connecticut and time on that had run out, Department policy was to destroy evidence that the statute of limitations had run out on. So even though this hat was evidence in a robbery directly linked to a homicide. It was never officially considered evidence in CJ's murder.

[Craig Sutton]

I think there were so many hands in the pot that I feel like everybody thought somebody else was doing something and it never got done. It's like driving by a crash and saying somebody will call. Well, if everybody's driving by the crash and saying somebody will call, well, nobody's gonna call. I don't want to throw them under the bus. But with any interagency investigations, there's always that lack or lapse in communication. And if you don't have the key players involved, that information starts to fade away. And of course, I mean, we're a 24 hour business where crime never stops. So it's on to the next and onto the next. And I think that that one got closed out or put on the shelf. There was no note that was put into it to keep it as part of our case. I think that that's something that maybe we could have done, we should have done better. Once we had the ballistic comparisons of the bullets that were recovered, which linked both crimes, I would have hoped that we would have maybe seized that or tried to preserve that in some way, but coulda, shoulda, woulda.

[Ashley Flowers]

Having hit a forensic dead end, Detective Roberts tried to go right to the main suspects instead, Spikes and Whitehead. But when he tried to track Whitehead down, he hit another very permanent wall.

[Craig Sutton]

He ended up dying in 1994.

[Ashley Flowers]

Even Craig, the survivor of the second shooting, had passed away too. And that confidential informant. The initial detectives never documented who they were or how to find them. But there is a glimmer of hope. Detective Roberts had some hunches about who that confidential tip might have come from. He suspected that even though the informant was referred to as he and him in the report, this unknown person may have been Whitehead's girlfriend at the time. Roberts tracked her to Vermont and drove up to talk to her. They sat down in the common room of her apartment building. But if she was the informant once upon a time, she wasn't going to take the role this time around. She said she didn't know anything about a murder. She told Detective Roberts that she had never heard whitehead admit to CJ's murder. And she certainly never told any detectives that she was under the impression that Whitehead was in prison at the time of CJ's death, something police know not to be true based on his record. Overall, her interview wasn't helpful. But she wasn't Detective Roberts only option. He was the first person on this case who made an effort to talk to Spikes. Roberts Told our reporter that investigators in the 80s didn't have enough to bring Spikes in for questioning. It seemed like investigators were waiting to confront him until they had more. But Detective Roberts felt, at least at this point, like they'd waited long enough.

[Craig Sutton]

The problem is that you never want to interview a primary suspect in a case without having any information. We were trying to develop an information pool that was deeper than what we had, and all we had was a puddle. In October of 2021, we threw a hail Mary and decided, well, Whitehead's deceased, so we don't have information from him. But maybe with Spikes, knowing that he would be willing to talk about maybe Whitehead's involvement, if he was involved.

[Ashley Flowers]

Spikes had been in and out of jail for small time larcenies, but was living in East Hartford when Detective Roberts tracked him down.

[Craig Sutton]

He described himself as a hustler and a car thief. Said he didn't have many friends because he would steal from him. So he's saying that his friends pretty much like a bad dude. Like, nobody trusted him. He would steal from anybody. It didn't matter because he was just so big, he would just take it. He admitted that he did a robbery with Whitehead and Windsor, which corroborated Whitehead saying that Spikes was with him. This dude's like, whatever. And admits that he was once caught with a.22 caliber handgun, but explained that he didn't carry a gun because his size was enough. And that's his quote. My size was enough. He said guns were too bulky and too loud.

[Ashley Flowers]

But he didn't admit to knowing anything about CJ's murder. Even when detectives tried to give him an opening to pin it on Whitehead.

[Craig Sutton]

We tried to walk him down the path. We're like, you know, I don't know if you know this, but, you know, Whitehead's deceased and, you know, sometimes you want to try and give somebody an out. Even if he implicated him and said, well, yeah, I was with him when he did this, we were kind of hoping he was going to say, yeah, I was driving. He went in and shot that guy. But he never touched it, and he.

[Ashley Flowers]

Never touched it when we talked to him either. We'd been trying to track down Spikes throughout our reporting process. And right as we were about to record this episode, our reporter Taylor tried a different number for him, One that he picked up. And he said he'd answer any questions we had. He said he was in Connecticut at the time of CJ's murder and was pretty candid about what he was up to. Back in the 80s. He was like, yeah, I've committed a lot of crimes. I've stolen a lot of cars. He said that he was with Whitehead when they did the Pepsi can robbery. But he said he wasn't involved in CJ's murder and didn't know who was and said that Whitehead wasn't violent or known to carry a gun. When asked about the fact that his name had come up so often in connection to CJ's murder, he said, and I quote, I keep telling. Telling them they're chasing the wrong guy, end quote. So we hit the same roadblock police have at this point. Police have not been able to track down anyone who could move their case forward.

[Craig Sutton]

There was just nobody willing to go on the record. And maybe that's because so much time had passed in that nobody was really affected that was in the circle of people that they were wronged enough that they wanted to come forward. I mean, people usually are only motivated by things that affect them personally. Right? These are strangers that are getting robbed or shot or whatever as far as this group is concerned. So what's the play? Why are you gonna put yourself out on a limb for that?

[Ashley Flowers]

Detective Roberts said that as hard as he's tried to solve this case, as hopeful as he's been at times, he does need someone to come forward if they're ever gonna get justice. For cj.

[Craig Sutton]

It's frustrating because nobody saw this happening. It seems like a senseless crime. You have a person who's dead with nothing stolen and no known enemies, working a double shift because he's just a good dude, and he winds up dead for what? It's frustrating as an investigator because, you know, we get in this profession because we want to put guilty persons in jail, and we want to make sure that innocent persons aren't put in jail. I want to be 100% positive that the person is. Who is responsible for the crime, you know, and right now, we're just not at that. We're not at that point. So if there's somebody out there that knows what happened, we need to rely on that person to come forward with some information that wasn't disseminated that would help really crack this case forward. And if the person who was deceased was responsible for it, at least we could bring closure to it. But if that person's still out walking around, well, then, you know, maybe we can develop a case that could put that person behind bars and bring justice to the family.

[Ashley Flowers]

To Detective Roberts, Dena has played a pivotal role in continuing to push this case forward. She and CJ were in their early 20s when he was killed. They'd been in love for years and had planned for a lifetime together. That Deena still mourns. She still wants to know what happened to her late fiance, and for someone to finally be held accountable. Dina went on to marry another man, raise children, and move to a quiet lake in New York, where she now watches her grandchildren grow. But she's never forgotten her first love. She visits CJ's grave when she goes back to Massachusetts, and she thinks about CJ all the time. The 30th anniversary of CJ's death hit her especially hard. With CJ's parents now deceased, Deena feels like she's one of the last people still pushing for answers. She's reading the case file over and over, digging through records herself and checking in with detectives for updates, reminding them that someone still cared, that someone is still waiting for justice. And she decided it was time to tell her children about her first love so she could push even harder.

[Dena Prest]

My husband and I sat them down and said, this is something that Mom's going to be spending some time on, and you're going to hear about it. Because there were local news stories and.

[Ashley Flowers]

Things were printed, and she has been spending time on it. She has been digging and digging, but CJ has now been gone nearly twice as many years as he lived. As another decade gone gets closer and closer, it's hard for her to imagine how it might feel to finally solve his murder.

[Dena Prest]

I don't know if I've actually let my mind go there. It's just. It feels like too much to hope for. I was very hopeful 10 years ago, but so much has been lost over the years, so I don't know that I've even let my mind go there. It just feels like one of those things that you want to take care of before you can.

[Ashley Flowers]

Deena's persistence, her commitment to justice for CJ has encouraged detectives to keep at it, too. And they're going to keep trying. For CJ and for Dina, she was.

[Craig Sutton]

Grateful that we had reinvigorated it, that we had started pushing forward, trying to find more information on the case. And unfortunately, what we find with most of these cold cases is that time just kind of wipes a lot of it out, whether it's memories or evidence or things being destroyed. If we can bring resolve to this, if this interview brings one person forward that can help take this across the finish line, that will be the best day ever. And I'm sure it'll be magical for Dena to know that it never died. It never died.

[Ashley Flowers]

Investigators are still looking to talk to anyone who has information about Carmen CJ DeLuca's death, so if you know anything, please contact the Connecticut Cold case unit at 1-866-623805 or you can email them at cold.caset.gov the deck is an Audio Chuck production with theme music by Ryan Lewis. To learn more about the Deck and our advocacy work, visit thedeckpodcast.com so what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve? How many discounts does USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here.

[Craig Sutton]

Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, New vehicle discount, Storage discount.

[Ashley Flowers]

How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com autodiscounts restrictions apply.

[Kylie Lowe]

Hi, I'm Kylie Lowe, host of Dark Down East, a true crime podcast unlike any other. Why? Because every case I cover comes from the heart of my home, New England. From the rocky Maine coast to the historic streets of Boston to the quiet corners of Vermont and beyond, I investigate stories filled with untold twists, enduring questions, and voices that deserve to be heard. So if you're ready to explore the darker side of New England, join me every week for Dark Down East. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.