Prosecutor’s Office Solves 31-Year-Old Jersey Shore Murder Cold Case, But Suspect Dead for 7 Years

by Charlie Dwyer

TOMS RIVER, NJ -The Ocean County prosecutor’s office has announced they have solved a 31-year-old Cold Case murder that took place in 1991 in Barnegat. Unfortunately for the victim and their family, there will be no justice in the case as the man suspected for the murder of Deborah “Debbie” Ann Bloomquist, 30, of Ocean Township guide 7 years ago.

The Ocean County prosecutor’s office said investigators have positively identified John Pelletier, formerly of Barnegat Township, as the individual responsible for the murder. Pelletier died in Linton, North Dakota in 2015.

According to his obituary, was born in Los Angeles, and moved to New Jersey with his mother Anna, as an infant. He grew up in the Barnegat area where he attended school and lived until 2005, 14 years after he murdered Bloomquist.

His life continued uninterrupted as he lived a normal life, knowing that he had killed the 30-year-old during his time in New Jersey.


Pelletier moved around. He worked in construction in his late teens and operated his own construction business for 20 years.


“He then moved to West Virginia and worked there for 3 years before moving to North Dakota in 2008. John worked for various construction companies until a work injury in 2010 caused him to retire from construction,” according to his obituary.

He eventually married his wife Eurlyne in 2013, 22 years after he committed murder. It is not known whether or not he ever confided to his wife that he was a murderer.

Pelletier lived out the rest of his life in peace and will never be brought to justice for the murder he committed here in New Jersey.

According to a report by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, on October 26, 1991, the body of a young woman, later identified as Deborah Ann Bloomquist, was discovered in a heavily wooded area in Barnegat.

“An autopsy performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Ms. Bloomquist died from multiple stab wounds and that she was the victim of a sexual assault. The Medical Examiner ruled Ms. Bloomquist’s cause of death a homicide. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Barnegat Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sherriff’s Office began an investigation into Ms. Bloomquist’s murder. In furtherance of the investigation, biological evidence was collected and preserved; the technology did not exist at that time, however, to submit this evidence for DNA testing,” Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. “The investigation at the time of her death revealed that Ms. Bloomquist had been living in a motel in Monmouth County and was last seen at a tavern in Asbury Park on October 24, 1991. Ms. Bloomquist had no known ties to the Barnegat area. Unfortunately, no leads were established and the case went cold.”

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According to Billhimer, over a decade after her murder, the biological evidence collected from the scene led to the development of a male DNA profile.

“In January 2022, at the direction of Prosecutor Billhimer, the case was presented to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General – Cold Case Task Force, and the investigation was reopened,” he added. “A full analysis of the evidence was conducted in a cooperative investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Barnegat Township Police Department, New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Thanks to technological advances – and with the assistance of BODE Technology – detectives were able to identify the male DNA profile collected from the scene in 1991 as belonging to John Pelletier, and reach the conclusion that Pelletier was, in fact, the individual responsible for Ms. Bloomquist’s murder.”

“After more than three decades, this hideous crime has, at long last, been solved. Though Pelletier never faced justice for his actions in this life, we nevertheless hope this conclusive determination brings some level of peace and closure to the family of Debbie Ann Bloomquist,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.

“I’d like to thank the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the New Jersey State Police for the creation of the Cold Case Task Force. The resources made available through the collaborative investigative process the Cold Case Task Force provides allowed us to finally solve this heinous crime. Barnegat Township Chief of Police Keith Germain and Barnegat Township Detective William Hetrick deserve a lot of credit for never giving up on this case. I am grateful for their efforts,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.

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