Murder at Delaware Park. Police don’t know who killed Adolf Czojor

April 26, 1996, seemed to be a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary day for sausage maker Adolf Czojor.

Adolf, a Bear resident, went to his job in New Jersey and by evening he was ready to celebrate his 13th wedding anniversary with his second wife, Madeline Joan Thomas Reese Czojor, known by her middle name Joan.

Adolf wanted to go to Delaware Park racetrack and casino in Stanton, a favorite spot of the frequent gambler. He told Joan she could play the slots while he tried his luck “at the ponies.”

Joan couldn’t be persuaded. And on their anniversary, Adolf went alone.

About three and half hours later, the 61-year-old was dead.

The circumstances of his extremely rare, jaw-dropping cause of death and ensuing investigation would become one of the most perplexing of Delaware’s more than 300 cold cases or unsolved homicides. 

Twenty-six years later, the case, which has enough twists and turns to rival an Agatha Christie novel, continues to confound authorities and the Czojor family still doesn’t know who is responsible for stealing Adolf’s life.