An indictment is still months away, said a Burlington County prosecutor.

By DAVID J. RALIS
Courier Times

	Murder victim Rachel Elizabeth Siani.

Police forensic tests on evidence in the murder case of exotic dancer Rachel Siani are complete, but it could be months before a New Jersey grand jury weighs the charges police filed against a Buckingham sign painter, a prosecutor said this week.

Meanwhile, her alleged killer, John A. "Jack" Denofa, 36, is free on $500,000 bail and is "occupying himself with work and his family," his defense lawyer, Al Cepparulo of New Hope, said yesterday.

The married sign company owner was a Tuesday night regular at the now-defunct Divas International Gentleman's Club in Bristol Township where Siani worked. He often stayed at a room in the adjoining Econo Lodge, police say. Siani, 21, of Bensalem, was last seen alive entering Denofa's motel room at 2:40 a.m. on March 29.

On April 1, all-terrain vehicle riders found Siani's body 200 feet beneath the New Jersey side of a bridge that connects the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes over the Delaware River.

First Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Raymond Milavsky said the trial delay is normal for a murder case in New Jersey, where prosecutors first must obtain a grand jury indictment against a murder suspect before they can go to trial.

Milavsky said a recently released state police report needs to be analyzed; it could take months to build the case against Denofa before it goes to a grand jury.

In Pennsylvania, police must take a case to trial within 180 days, the lawyers said. New Jersey law has no specific time limit, and Milavsky said he is involved in trying a murder case from two years ago.

Cepparulo said he has no problem with the slowness of the prosecution, adding, "They're being deliberate about it. It's the right thing to do." He also said the defense has spent the months "doing a fair amount of investigation."

Denofa's case is being prosecuted in New Jersey because Siani's body was found in that state.

Denofa and relatives of Siani could not be reached for comment.

Thursday, February 8, 2001