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David Goodell (NJ Dept. of Corrections)
“This is good news. This is good news,” Viviana Tulli’s sister, Stella, told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “I had a dream about her last night. Every time she comes to me like that, something good happens. And something happened today.”
David Goodell was out on parole and fled a Newark halfway house hours before he killed Viviana Tulli and drove her car head-on into a police cruiser in a Ridgefield cul-de-sac, in what authorities dubbed a “suicide by cop” attempt. (MORE, BELOW)
Goodell previously spent less than half a year in Northern State Prison in Newark for assaulting a police officer and threatening to kill a woman he was dating, as CLIFFVIEW PILOT originally reported.
Born Dec. 18, 1979, the 5-foot-8 Goodell was supposed to remain behind bars until December 2011 after he was sentenced by a Passaic County judge two years ago.
Under state law, he could have been sent to prison for four years on each conviction. But he was paroled in February 2010, five months after serving what was originally a sentence of more than two years, according to records obtained by CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
CLIFFVIEW PILOT photo (No re-use without hyperlink)
According to the victim’s sister, Stella Tulli: “David was still serving time at a halfway house when he fake[d] a seizure and was taken to [the] hospital.” From there, he took off.
Goodell was standing outside the victim’s car, parked in a lot at Ridgefield Park High School, when someone called police and described him as disoriented and covered in blood.
Police who responded ended up chasing Goodell’s car into Ridgefield, where the incident came to a horrifying end.
The list of charges contained in the indictment: First-degree murder, absconding from parole, unlawfully concealing human remains, desecration of human remains, eluding police, aggravated assault by auto, aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest.
ALSO SEE (Click on headlines to read):
Headstone finally in place for slain woman as anniversary nears
Monday, 08 August 2011 18:59 Jerry DeMarco
EXCLUSIVE: Weeks from the first anniversary of Viviana Tulli’s murder, her headstone is finally in place, replacing a wooden cross sticking from the grave, thanks to a company that responded to a CLIFFVIEW PILOT bid for help.
Slip-up leaves slain woman’s sister still seeking answers
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 16:05 Stella Tulli
ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: My cellphone was vibrating. I wished my mom a “Happy Birthday” that morning and all seemed right. But as the hours passed, a feeling of uneasiness crept over me. So I answered. “The police called your father. They want us all to go to the police station,” Mom said. “Something happened to Vivi.”
Vivian (left) and StellaI got there and officers immediately started asking me questions. All I could stammer out was “Is she alive?”
“Your sister was in an accident,” one of them said. “She was killed.”
Kulinski Memorials donates headstone to slain woman’s family
Sunday, 14 November 2010 22:04 Jerry DeMarco
ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: A prominent memorials company is donating the headstone for a murdered 21-year-old Garfield High School graduate whose family has hit hard times. Meanwhile, a Garfield bar plans a Dec. 4 fundraiser to help Viviana Tulli’s family.
Murdered woman’s family seeks help getting headstone Wednesday, 03 November 2010 05:29 Jerry DeMarco
ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: Viviana Tulli’s dad got laid off and her mother had a birthday the same day the 21-year-old Garfield High School graduate was murdered. A devastated family was reduced to borrowing from friends and family to pay $16,000 toward her funeral, after getting $5,000 from the state. Now, Viviana’s sister is hoping donations will help pay for a headstone.
Accused murderer ducked out of halfway house, prosecutor says
Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli confirmed a CLIFFVIEW PILOT report that an ex-con accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend and then ramming her car into a police cruiser was out on parole when the crimes occurred.
EXCLUSIVE: Accused killer was paroled early after assaulting cops, making death threats
Tuesday, 31 August 2010 08:03 Jerry DeMarco
ONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: It wasn’t as if Viviana Tulli didn’t know the history of the man who authorities said strangled her Monday before apparently trying to commit suicide-by-cop. The ex-con had been released from prison to a halfway house earlier this year after serving time for assaulting officers and threatening a previous girlfriend in Passaic County, CLIFFVIEW PILOT has found.
He strangles 21-year-old woman, then rams police car head-on in suicide attempt, prosecutor says
Monday, 30 August 2010 21:49 Jerry DeMarco
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A bloodied man who police believe had just strangled an ex-girlfriend drove her car head-on into a police cruiser with the woman’s body still in the passenger seat, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. The lifeless body of 21-year-old Viviana Tulli of Saddle Brook was found in the car driven by David Goodell, 30, of Clifton (formerly of Ridgefield Park) after the crash, he said.
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