Rabbi`s Son Testifies

The son of a rabbi accused of arranging of his wife's murder testified Thursday that his parents had a serious argument that included talk of divorce two nights before she was killed and that his father showed no emotion after the killing.

In testimony that was more detailed and emotional than during the first trial of Rabbi Fred Neulander, Matthew Neulander said he was stunned at his father's lack of reaction on Nov. 1, 1994, the night Carol Neulander was bludgeoned to death in their Cherry Hill, N.J., home.

Matthew Neulander, who referred to his father only as "Fred" during testimony, said the rabbi was expressionless when the son arrived at the house that night to see a swarm of police cars and officers investigating the beating death.

"When I first saw him he looked kind of the way he looks right now," Matthew Neulander said as he glanced at the defense table. "Kind of bland and unemotional. He said nothing to me."

The son, who worked in the township as an emergency medical technician, said other rescue workers had to bodily prevent him from going into the house and seeing the bloody scene and that he was immediately disturbed by his father's behavior.

"I'd have given my right arm just to sit there with her and hold her hand and tell her I am there," he said. "He said he was too sick and too scared to help her."

The testimony came in the fourth day of the retrial of Fred Neulander. A Camden County jury deliberated for seven days after the first trial last year before declaring itself hopelessly deadlocked. The retrial was moved to Monmouth County in an attempt to seat a jury that had been less exposed to the extensive media coverage of the case.

The prosecution contends that Fred Neulander paid two men to have his wife killed so he could continue an extramarital affair. The defense claims the two men who have pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the case are lying about the rabbi's involvement.

Matthew Neulander's testimony had several members of his family in the courtroom in tears. During a break from the witness stand, he hugged and talked to family members as his father sat alone just a few feet away. Fred Neulander never turned around to look.

The son said the argument he witnessed on Oct. 30, 1994, was out of character for the couple and that his mother was crying. His mother said his father was moving out of the house and she went to basement to get two suitcases, according to the testimony.

"I'd never seen them argue like that before," he said. "It was bizarre. It was almost surreal."

He later described the night of his mother's murder when he was on duty as an EMT. Earlier in the trial, the jury heard Fred Neulander's 911 call that night when he expressed concern about his son responding to the emergency and asked the operator to make sure it didn't happen.

Under cross-examination by the defense, Matthew Neulander agreed that his father was always a private person who rarely showed his emotions. However, he said that didn't change his opinion about his father's response on the night of the killing.

"I was and am still surprised and shocked," he said.

Matthew Neulander, a physician who now lives in North Carolina, also conceded that he accepted money from his father for wedding and moving expenses.

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