Their Story
Carol Jean DiPasalegne
Named after her uncle and her father, Carol was born in December of 1942. Her parents were Florence and Jean DiPasalegne. Carol had a half brother considerably older than her on her mother's side but grew up as an only child. She would spend most of her time with a cousin that she considered her best friend. Their relationship made her feel as though she was her sister as well. Carol was strong, determined and some may say stubborn as ever. She was also very beautiful and sweet. Her mother loved to bake cakes, cupcakes and cookies and would reward Carol for good deeds, such as A’s in school and cleaning up her room. Other then her cousin, She didn’t have many friends growing up because of her weight; children would constantly tease her and call her fat.
At age 11 her mother and father separated. Carol adored her dad. He later ended up remarrying and having 4 more children. All of which were considerably younger than Carol; she loved them. With everything going on in her life she still made sure that she kept in contact with her family. She would help her father with all of her siblings back at home. Her father separated from his second wife and was left as a single black man raising 4 children in the 60’s. Carol would provide her father,sisters and brothers with the basic items needed to survive. Her siblings names were Iris, Jean, Denise, and Harry. On occasions she would take her sisters to get their hair done and made sure she came home every Christmas to provide gifts that otherwise the family would't have had. Carol was aware that there was indeed another sister somewhere but the whereabouts were unknown. Her lost sisters name was Lisa.
Carol went to East Orange High School in East Orange, NJ. During her junior year of high school Carol was tragically raped by a group of boys coming home from school one day. She was a virgin. It has been said from family members that “she was never the same after that”. Shortly after this incident she found herself also interested in women and began presenting herself as bi-curious.Carol graduated from East Orange High School in 1960.
Despite her difficult childhood, as an adult Carol was still a very determined woman. She decided to apply to be an airline stewardess. Carol believed that they did not approve her application due to the color of her skin but used her weight as a way to decline her application. They told her she had three months to lose 30 lbs to be considered for the position. With her dedicated spirit, she lost that weight in three months. Carol J. DiPasalegne became one of the first Black Airline Stewardess’ for United Airlines.
One day as she was instructing the passengers on the procedures of the Aircraft. Upon lift off, she was noticed by the Creator of the Ebony Fashion Fair. It has been said that due to her sultry voice she was then asked to be the commentator for that show. She agreed. She was commentator for three years. She traveled the world as their premier fashion coordinator. She assisted in selecting the fashions for the show. At one time, prior to the start of the show, the equipment did not work, so she just moved the mike to the side and talked to the audience as if they were sitting in her living room until the systems came back up. She was that girl.
She still struggled with her weight as an adult but she didn’t let that hold her back! She was given the opportunity to model for Jet Magazine.She was featured on the cover of Jet Magazine multiple times. She also appeared in magazine ads for Virginia Slims Cigarettes. Shortly after that, she decided she wanted to sing. Although she had a nice sultry voice, she knew she wasn't the best singer, so she went and took voice lessons. The voice instructor was able to reinvent her voice. She became a nightclub singer at the Playboy Club under the name of Carol Denmark because they told her DiPasalegne was too long of a name. She temporarily sang with a group called the Glass Bottles. She also took interest in film. She auditioned for a film but was told she was not dark enough to be a black person on the silver screen.
She married her first husband Lawrence Tunny. Tunny was a white businessman and he became her manager. This marriage was a lavish lifestyle. They opened a little boutique in East Orange, New Jersey called “Love and Stuff” where they sold little “knickknacks” as they called them such as, bags, hats and other little things. Unfortunately the shop didn’t stay open for long. Carol found her husband too demanding in his role as her manager and she decided to separate.
Her dad eventually remarried again. When Carol and his wife met, they found that they knew of each other in High School. Her and her new stepmother were around the same age. Carol was okay with that. However, she did begin to decrease her visits to the house because she felt she was no longer needed as much and allow his wife to take over.
Carol loved to travel. She traveled all over the world and met lots of people. She later met Famous Amos and moved in with him in Hawaii. It was assumed that they would marry but they never did. She then decided to move back to Chicago where she was most familiar and happy. There she met her second husband Herbert Cammon. It has been said, that before marrying him he told her he used to be Gay but he had overcome that desire. She believed him. In her quest to be loved, married and settled, she fell in love with him. He proposed to her after 2 months. They married on April 11th, 1982. 11 days prior to the marriage, he took out a $250,000 double indemnity life insurance policy on her.
On April 25th, 2 weeks into marriage Carol called home stating that she was a little fearful about it. She stated that she felt something wasn't right for they had not yet consummated their marriage. With concern, her stepmother instructed her to come home. Unfortunately, Carol never return home. On April 27th, 1982 Carol Jean DiPasalegne was brutally murdered. Carol was only 39 years of age.
Cammon, a suspect, was tried twice. The first time it was a hung jury. The jury was split 10-2 for guilty verdict and a mistrial was declared. Cammon then asked for a bench trial without a jury. It has been told that the first judge felt that he was guilty but the jury was hung so he was forced to recuse himself. With Cammon now getting a new judge, it has been said that he promised the new Judge and the prosecutor money for an acquittal. This judge referred to Carol as “Just another dead nigger”. However, he also said that Cammon was a schemer, crooked, ignorant and callous; many circumstances cast a dark cloud of suspicion over Cammon. Unfortunately, the evidence did not add up to proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.”. He was acquitted. Thankfully he never received the life insurance money. No one was convicted for the murder of Carol Jean DiPasalegne. Cammon died in April, 1990.
Denise Sylvia DiPasalegne
Middle named after her mother, Denise was born to Jean and Sylvia DiPasalegne on May 3, 1959. She was Carol’s younger sister. Carol and Denise shared the same father but had different mothers. Denise was a sweet, loving and a very beautiful child. However, her mother thought she was to thin and would try everything to put weight on her; but Denise never allowed her mother's view toward her “thinness” to impact her self-esteem. She started putting on weight in high school. As a shock to her, she would appear to be a little concerned about her weight as it would fluctuate.
Denise started singing with Iris at the age of 8 years old. When she was 12 years old she was a member of Faith Temple Church in East Orange, NJ. She participated in the choir where she loved to sing. There she met ,who was later to be her second husband. Him and his older brother were the same age as Denise and her older sister Iris. Him and Denise “went together” for a short period of time until he left the church.
Denise was the person who would listen to your every word. Nothing else mattered when you talked to her except what you were saying. When you would speak with her she would give you her complete undivided attention. It has been said that men would fall in love with her because no matter who they were or how they looked, she was a great listener for them. She was one of the sweetest people you could ever meet, she would help without you asking and never required any reward. She was also warm hearted and full of fun. She was always willing to have a good time just about anywhere she went. She was the one who would take risks, from sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night for donuts, to stealing a car with her sister to ride to Rider College campus so that her sister could see her boyfriend. She was always a willing companion.
Denise graduated from East Orange High School in 1977. During her high school years she was popular and sung in the Choir as well as some other school organizations. She then went to further her education at Rutgers University majoring in Social Work. While she attended school, she worked part time at Gino’s. She also worked at a dance club in East Orange NJ called El Castel. She manned the juice bar because they did not serve alcohol. She was then offered a job at the Peppermint Lounge. The Peppermint Lounge was the place everyone from all of the surrounding areas went. If you went to the Peppermint Lounge, you were sure to see someone you knew. It was the spot. She waited tables and when they opened the restaurant, she began working in there as well. She met a lot of people and everyone knew her name. She loved to sing so she would often sing for the lounge on Armature nights, from this she became more known. After graduating, Denise began working for the Division of Youth and Family Services. (DYFS). During her free time she would still hang out at the Peppermint Lounge. They adored her there and threw her a great birthday party when she turned 25 years old.
She had a few boyfriends and she never shied away from living with them. She felt in order to fully know someone you must live with them. When it was over, though, it was over. One boyfriend she lived with had two children. She loved children and was willing to marry him and be a mother to his children. Everyone knew this but it ended abruptly after about a year.
Denise married her first husband Robert Middleton. He adored her, they made a good couple and were the best of friends. However, after a year of marriage they decided to divorce. Even after the divorce they remained really good friends.
Through her job she became familiar with children who needed families and she adopted a little girl. She became a single mother and loved it. They were the dynamic duo. The child was troubled and hurt but Denise took her in when she was 4 years old. The child was confused about her color so Denise would sit in the mirror and explain her ethnicity to her because she and Denise were the same color.
One day walking down Central Avenue in East Orange, Denise ran into her second husband Tyrone Winn. They immediately recognized each other from their church when she was 12 years old. It was like love at second sight. He now had two boys and the boys later fell in love with her as well. Denise happily married Tyrone in 1991. They purchased a home a year later for them and their three children. Denise and her husband shared a love for music so they built a studio in the basement to make music and help younger people to get into the music industry. Denise began singing with a wedding band regularly that became very popular.
After her father’s passing in 1997, Denise mentioned leaving her husband. That September, she revealed to Iris some of the abuse she was suffering under her husbands reign. She explained that he was mean, hateful and she needed to get away. She said that he would call her stupid, yell at her and embarrass her in front of her friends and the people who would visit the studio.
She decided to leave him. She found an apartment one block away from her and her husband’s home. She wanted to be close for the children. She had moved a great deal of her things into the apartment but her husband promised that he would help her move the rest of her things out the Friday after Christmas. Her husband appeared to just want one more night with her. Denise was found dead December of 1997. It has been said that although she was already moving out, Denise told her husband that she may have wanted a divorce as well. Denise was only 38 years old.
Tyrone plea bargained at 17 years. He was required to do 85% of that time which ended up being sentenced at 14 years. The family went along with the plea because they felt that if it went to trial he may have gotten away with Crime of Passion. The family had already experienced the wrongful outcome of Denise’s sister Carol and could not take that risk. In 2003 Tyrone went up for parole. However, Denise’s older sister Iris and her younger sister Lisa advocated for victims rights. After further investigation they found that he was not to be up for parole at that time. They rescinded his parole date and he had to complete his full sentence. Denise’s husband completed his full sentence and was released in 2015. To this day the family does not know the true story of what happened the night of Denise’s murder.