Snapped: Killer Couples on Oxygen - Who was Jeff Zack and what happened to him?

Snapped: Killer Couples' new episode will revisit the shocking murder case of 44-year-old Stow businessman Jeff Zack. The episode will premiere on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at 6 pm ET, exclusively on Oxygen.

The official synopsis of the episode, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"The murder of a husband and father exposes a scandalous love triangle and triggers an investigation into one of the town's wealthiest residents."

Zack's seemingly random death baffled the police. The businessman was known to be arrogant, rude, and hot-tempered throughout the community and had therefore had numerous ongoing fights with community members, making it incredibly difficult for the police to find the killer in such a large suspect pool. He had also been known to start physical fights with numerous women throughout the years and had garnered a negative image.

The abundance of motives for Jeff Zack's murder led the police to contact those close to him, including his family and friends, who revealed that Zack and his wife Bonnie had been particularly close to millionaire couple Ed and Cynthia George over the years.

Ed and Cynthia George (Image via IMDb)

After a thorough investigation of the case, some shocking truths came to light that completely changed the trajectory of the case, and it was finally revealed that the person responsible for the murder of Jeff Zack was John Zaffino, a criminal who lived in the community. Shockingly, Zaffino had been ordered to commit the murder by Cynthia George.

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Who was Jeff Zack and how did he die?

Jeff Zack (Image via IMDb)

Jeff Zack was a 44-year-old Stow businessman and a former paratrooper in the Israeli Army. He had been shot in the head at the BJ Warehouse Club in Akron, Ohio, where he had stopped for gas on his journey home from work. Reportedly, a motorcycle rider, after exiting the building, walked towards the gas pumps and shot Zack. The witnesses on the scene were not able to identify the rider, for he was wearing a full-face shield mask and took off almost instantly after committing the crime.

Despite medical help arriving within minutes of the shooting, Zack could not be saved. As mentioned above, Zack had made a lot of enemies throughout the years, leading the police to interrogate family and friends in an effort to find something concrete. Zack's wife, Bonnie, revealed that they both shared a close friendship with Ed and Cynthia George, a wealthy couple that lived down the street.

However, perhaps the most shocking revelation in Bonnie's interrogation was that Jeff Zack had shared an intimate relationship with Cynthia George over the years. Despite being a husband and a father, Zack had been having an affair with Cynthia since the beginning of his marriage. Bonnie also revealed that Zack made no effort to hide his relationship and was frequently abusive to her whenever she confronted him about it.

Ed George, Cynthia's husband, on the other hand, was not aware of the relationship until this interrogation. Having had lengthy shifts at the nightclub he owned, Cynthia was left to take care of their six kids at home, during which time she used to invite Jeff Zack home. It was revealed later that Cynthia George's youngest child was, in fact, Zack's.

Cynthia George during legal proceedings (Image via IMDb)

Being the most viable suspect in the case, the police interrogated Cynthia George about the shooting and her involvement in the case. While Cynthia insisted that she had nothing to do with the crime, she did reveal that several weeks prior she had ended her relationship with Zack and that he did not take it well. He would often show up at her house unannounced and interrupt her plans with friends and family.

What George did not reveal in this interrogation, the police found out very soon. The entire reason Cynthia George broke up with Jeff Zack was because she had a new boyfriend, John Zaffino. This revelation came from Christine Todaro, John Zaffino's wife, who claimed that he had often mentioned having an affair with George and had even admitted to her that he had shot a "white-haired Israeli."

After obtaining the proper evidence and confessions from both Zaffino and George, they were both convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, Cynthia George was later found not guilty after an appeal to the court that led her to be released after spending just eighteen months in jail.

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Catch the upcoming episode of Snapped: Killer Couples on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at 6 pm ET, exclusively on Oxygen.