Trial nears for Washington Township man accused of pushing wife off cliff
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110306/NJNEWS/103060316/Trial-nears-Washington-Township-man-accused-pushing-wife-off-cliff?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
"Washington Township resident Stephen Scharf is on the brink of being tried in Bergen County on a charge of killing his wife by pushing her off a cliff in 1992 so he could collect on her life insurance.
A few weeks after she served her husband with divorce papers, Jody Ann Scharf, 44, fell more than 100 feet from a cliff to her death near the Rockefeller Lookout in Englewood Cliffs.
Bergen County officials on Dec. 17, 2008, made the surprise move of arresting Scharf, a Morris County resident, and charging him with murdering his wife 16 years earlier, on Sept. 20, 1992.
Now 60, Scharf is being held in the Bergen County Jail on $1 million bail.
A Superior Court judge in Bergen County is set to start hearing legal motions in the case on March 29. Depending on the outcome, jury selection is supposed to start in April. Defense lawyers Edward Bilinkas and Jason Alterbaum said they have filed motions to dismiss the indictment, to suppress statements made by Stepen Scharf and to preclude any trial testimony from the victim's therapist or statements from her friends.
The Scharfs were together at the lookout when Jody Ann Scharf fell. At that time, Scharf told authorities that he and his wife scaled a 4-foot fence and made their way to the edge of a cliff. He said his wife slipped and fell just after 8 p.m. She was pronounced dead after rescue workers reached her body close to midnight.
Bilinkas said his client is innocent. Scharf and his wife often went to the lookout for recreation and were in the process of reconciling, Bilinkas said.
The defense lawyers contend the prosecution is prejudicial because of the lengthy lapse of time and because material witnesses have died. Bilinkas contended the state has no evidence against his client now, just as it didn't in 1992.
Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor Wayne Mello — who handled major crimes as a former assistant prosecutor in Morris County — said the case has come a long way since 1992.
"The Rules of Ethics preclude a prosecutor from commenting on the content and nature of the evidence in a pending matter. Suffice it to say, however, this is a very different case than that of 1992," Mello said.
At least a year before the victim's death, Scharf took out a $300,000 life insurance policy on his wife, which paid an additional $200,000 if she died in an accident, such as a fall. He didn't try to collect at the time on the policy, but almost a decade later, he learned the money was sitting in an unclaimed property fund. He claimed the funds, which had grown through interest to $700,000.
Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in 2008, when Scharf was arrested, that fresh investigatory work had been done on the case. The state has retained an expert who will testify that Jody Ann Scharf could not have simply fallen based upon where her body was found and the height of the cliff."
shoebie Very interesting article. I have to say that if he pushed his wife off the cliff to claim the insurance policy, he is a very patient person. It sounds like he waited 10 years (after the money was placed in unclaimed property for many years) before he chose to collect on the insurance.
IDK, but, personally that makes the motive listed by the prosecuter kind of suspect.
Hope the truth comes out on this one.
Coralie A 18 yr old case is coming to court now and at what cost to the tax payers - and what was the cost of sitting on this case for 18yrs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ justice at what cost
Caged Animal "A few weeks after she served her husband with divorce papers"
why in the world did she go hiking with him if they were getting divorced??
darlughh 
Rebecka If you read the full article he claims they were reconciling and that they often went to this spot for the view. I have no idea what happened.
BLDI'm sure her family doesn't care how many years it takes to bring her killer to justice (if she truly was pushed). There is no statute of limitations for homicide.
doglovers Where's Cal Lightman when you need him? He'd be able to spot remorse / intent (or lack of) from a mile away!
ComputerSharp Jury is deliberating - http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110524/NJNEWS/305240016/Washington-Twp-man-s-fate-jury?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
This is insane. He was arrested 16 years after the alleged crime and then to place a milliom dollars bail on him? Bail is only to ensure that you return to court not to punish someone in advance. There should have been no bail especially since he's been in the same place for decades.
And the insurance proceeds really weren't unclaimed property. What probably happened is that he notified the company of her death and just left the money on deposit to either draw at a later time or perhaps take as an annunity when he reached a certain age.
Bubba Bubba - He was found guilty - http://longvalley.patch.com/articles/long-valley-man-found-guilty-in-wifes-death
Bruin I just watched this on Dateline. At the beginning he looked so truthful and innocent. As the story unfolded...not so much.
cbel Update to the story - http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20120306/NJNEWS/303060025/Son-seeking-insurance-money-from-Washington-Twp-mother-s-death-after-father-gets-life-prison?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Why did it take their son 16 years and a new trial to tell that the dad said he did it? Could it be that the son would get the $$? The son has been an adult for a few years now and you would think if he knew his Mom was killed he would have said something years ago.. that doesn't mean I think the Dad didn't do it. Who knows but them.
Laura M Commenting is no longer available.