TOMS RIVER – A woman who admitted to shooting a man and helping to dismember and dispose of his body was sentenced to 25 years in state prison. Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, Elizabeth Mascarelli must serve at least 85 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole.
Ocean County Superior Court Judge Ryan sentenced the 29-year-old woman of Seaside Heights after she pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the death of her landlord. The gruesome details in the death of Kerry Rollason, a 56-year-old Toms River resident, were so disturbing that a family member watching the sentencing by video link, signed off shortly after Mascarelli’s attorney began his request for leniency.
Defense attorney Glenn Kassman detailed the horrific nature of Rollason’s death, which occurred on July 3, 2024. He acknowledged that Mascarelli fired three shots into Rollason’s body at his Ravenwood Drive residence in Toms River.
“After Rollason died, Mascarelli and her co-defendants Jared Krysiak, Danielle Bolstad, and Jared Palumbo, at the direction of the now-deceased Maxwell Johnston, cut Kerry Rollason’s body into pieces, put those pieces into garbage bags, and took them to an area in Jackson where they were burned in a burn barrel,” Kassman said.
A solitary tear streamed down Mascarelli’s cheek as she faced those sitting in the courtroom gallery who came to witness her sentencing in person.
“Were it my task to ask you for compassion or leniency based solely on those facts, I’d have an absolutely impossible task,” Kassman admitted. “The acts committed by my client are inarguably heinous.”
Kassman then pivoted, arguing that Mascarelli herself was also a victim in the twisted scenario, stopping short of saying his client should not be punished. Johnston, known on the streets as “Caesar,” was out of prison for just a year and was a fugitive. He was hiding at the Ravenwood address, wanted for the June 27, 2024 murder of 25-year-old Gabriella Caroleo in Manchester.
Painting Johnston as a volatile and paranoid man who brandished a firearm and stabbed mattresses because he thought someone was hiding in them, Kassman said Mascarelli and her co-defendants were all terrorized. Threats against all their lives included not only Mascarelli – but also her five-year-old son. Kassman characterized Johnston’s final demonstration of instability as killing himself rather than being taken into police custody on July 5.
“Danielle Bolstad, one of the other defendants in this case, described the state of living in the home,” said Kassman. “As a hostage situation where no one could leave unless accompanied by Caesar.”
Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Julie Peterson, arguing for the 25-year sentence, vehemently rejected the defense’s portrayal of Mascarelli as a victim. She dismissed the claim that Mascarelli was held hostage by Johnston, citing evidence that Mascarelli left the Ravenwood Drive residence to visit her son and sent texts and photos to a co-defendant without supervision shortly before the killing.
Addressing character letters submitted on Mascarelli’s behalf, Peterson argued that Mascarelli’s actions demonstrated her true character as someone with a “complete and utter disregard for the law and for anyone else besides herself.” She pointed to Mascarelli’s “life of continuous illicit activity,” including drug use and dealing, her decision to harbor a wanted murderer, and, most chillingly, her role in Rollason’s death.
Peterson described how Mascarelli shot Rollason, left his body in the basement, then went to McDonald’s with a co-defendant before returning to mutilate the body “like an animal carcass at the butcher.” She further emphasized Mascarelli’s callousness, noting she took a photo of the dismembered body as a “trophy photo”…something to save on her phone because she was proud of it. Peterson said the next step was to transport Rollason’s body to burn it in Jackson.
“Her character was really demonstrated when police were surrounding this home on 1905 Ravenwood Drive, engaging in an active shootout in that neighborhood,” shared Peterson. “And she was in a bedroom with Maxwell Johnson engaging in sexual activity, live streaming photos and videos of herself with him licking and kissing the gun that he was using to open fire on multiple numbers of law enforcement.”
Although not initially charged with Rollason’s murder, Mascarelli’s behavior after her arrest further solidified the prosecution’s case. According to Peterson, upon arriving at the Ocean County Jail, Mascarelli showed no remorse or self-reflection. Instead, she bragged to anyone who would listen, claiming she deserved more credit for Rollason’s death and boasting that she was the one who “pulled the trigger.”
Referring to the victim impact statement submitted by one of Rollason’s survivors, Peterson said their family was ripped of any closure they could possibly get because of the underlying vast circumstances of the case. They were not only horrified but are also haunted by all of the defendants’ actions. They also did not believe Mascarelli would ever understand the gravity of what she did.
“Nothing can justify the way Kerry died, and the way Kerry’s moments were after that,” Mascarelli stammered as she faced not the judge but those assembled in the courtroom. “This is something I often look at every night…something that happens in my mind.”
Mascarelli apologized to both her family and the victim’s family, while admitting she knew saying sorry still didn’t allow Rollason’s survivors any type of closure.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Ryan acknowledged Mascarelli’s decision to plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter, a charge carrying a sentence of 10 to 30 years. A jury trial for murder could have resulted in a life sentence. The case moved swiftly, with Mascarelli entering her guilty plea less than two months after her indictment – a rare occurrence in such serious cases.
“I was very surprised when the attorneys told me this could be scheduled for a plea hearing so soon,” Ryan said. “I had her sit next to me on the stand when she waived her rights and provided a factual basis. Very few people do that.”
Ryan explained that in most murder cases, there are extensive pretrial motions to suppress evidence or statements, which lead to significant delays. The judge also emphasized that Mascarelli was not pressured to make a quick decision – she wanted to provide some closure to the family.
Mascarelli’s record since the age of 21 revealed numerous drug convictions, starting with illicit possession and ultimately escalating to distribution and manufacture. Ryan addressed the complexities of addiction and the criminal justice system’s approach to drug offenses. He noted that while probationary treatment often aims to help individuals struggling with substance abuse, the tendency to treat these offenses as non-violent can sometimes be problematic. Such leniency can be insufficient, particularly when drug use contributes to violent behavior, as it clearly did in Mascarelli’s case.
“I think Ms. Peterson so accurately described the circumstances of the offense. I’ve seen those videos and those photos,” said Ryan. “It almost appears to be an enjoyable experience to the participants. It’s something that you see posted online, and if you did, you probably would say…it’s two people in the bedroom engaged in an intimate act. And there’s a SWAT team surrounding the house, and there’s an exchange of gunfire to police at that time.”
With Mascarelli’s sentencing complete, the cases against her co-defendants are nearing resolution. Krysiak, who pleaded guilty to Desecration of Human Remains on December 16, 2024, before Ryan, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 7, 2025. Bolstad, who also pleaded guilty to Desecration of Human Remains, and Palumbo, who admitted guilt to Hindering Apprehension, both before Ryan, will be sentenced on March 14, 2025.
