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Rachael Siani was a psychology student at a community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who was found dead under a turnpike bridge in Burlington township, in New Jersey on April 1, 2000. She was discovered by an ATV rider, with the body lying face down in a heap of debris.
When the investigators arrived, they couldn't find external wounds on the body, except for some on the neck and face. However, when the autopsy reports of Rachael Siani arrived, it took the case towards her history, and a dark secret behind it, which led to her brutal death.
The entire story of Rachael Siani and the investigation behind her death is documented in episode 10 of Philly Homicide season 1. The episode is titled Dancing for the Devil which made its release on January 4, 2025, at 9 pm EST on Oxygen.
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5 key details on the murder of Rachael Siani
1) Rachael Siani led a dual life
Born on April 19, 1978, Rachael Siani got admission to a community college in Bucky County, where she majored in psychology. Rachael dreamt of helping people with her education by becoming a music therapist. However, paying for the college expenses was getting hard for her.
Hence, she took a job at Divas International Gentleman's Club as an exotic dancer to cover up the bills. As per an article on NJ.com, published on July 19, 2019, Rachael danced at the club by the name of Foxy Rosy.
2) Rachael Siani was murdered by strangulation
When the autopsy reports of Rachael Siani arrived, it revealed that she had suffered from numerous fractures and hemorrhages throughout her body. Medical examiners revealed that Rachel was strangled before she was thrown from the bridge.
Rachael Siani was found wearing a sweater and jeans, but her socks were still clean, despite falling into the rubble.
Upon examination, it was revealed that Rachael had suffered a lot of internal bleeding, and fibers from her sweater were found on the bridge, and blood on its external wall.
Additionally, as per Kileys True Crime, two of her fingernails were broken, which indicated the victim trying to fight back before her death.
3) John Denofa became the major suspect in Rachael Siani's murder
While talking with the friends of Rachael, one of her them revealed that the night she died, a regular customer from the club got drunk, and was banging on doors. The man was identified as John Denofa.
He was a frequent visitor at the club, especially on Tuesday nights, when he would especially pay to see Rachael dance and talk to her.
As per NJ.com, he was a married man running his family's magnetic sign business, whose wife knew about his habit of visiting the club. He would often get himself drunk, and stay at a nearby hotel.
4) John Denofa killed Rachael Siani and threw her body from the bridge
As per The Cinemaholic, investigators found from the motel that on March 28, 2000, John checked in the motel around 11 pm and went to the club. Upon investigation, he said that he saw Rachael Siani for the last time in the early hours of March 29, 2000.
The investigators comprehended that past midnight, John met Rachael outside the club, and she decided to accompany him to the motel. The clerk testified the two checked into Room 223.
A debate took place between the two, mainly because John was making advances towards her which she detested.
Drunk and infuriated, John Denofa choked Rachael Siani to death and then threw her body from the window. A neighboring resident in the motel revealed listening to a loud thump in the middle of the night.
John then went downstairs and dragged her body to the back of his pickup truck. He drove and took the body to Burlington township in New Jersey, and threw it off a turnpike bridge.
5) John Denofa was proven guilty from surveillance footage records
As per The Cinemaholic, when the authorities searched the motel resided by John Denofa, they found some traces of fibers and bloodstains in the shower. However, the fibers didn't belong to Rachael's sweater, and the bloodstains were too small to construct a DNA sample.
John had an alcohol addiction and was earlier arrested for a drink-and-drive case. As per Kileys True Crime, from the motel records investigators found that John owned a 1996 red Dodge truck.
A large stain of blood was found on the sidewalk, which indicated that the culprit had dragged the body somewhere. The investigators decided to trace John's pickup truck through surveillance footage.
As per The Cinemaholic, his truck was traced in a grainy video of a toll booth between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On the cargo bed, they saw the body of a woman.
When the truck bed was traced, investigators succeeded in finding drops of blood on its plastic lining, which matched the DNA sample of Rachael. As per NJ.com, John Denofa was put on trial and Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi took the case himself.
It was in November 2002 when Johnw was found guilty of the murder of Racael Siani. He was sentenced to life in prison, for first-degree murder, without any chance of parole for the next 30 years.
Jack kept on maintaining his innocence, coming up with a story that someone had framed him, by stealing his car keys and committing the murder. As per The Cinemaholic, John is currently serving his time behind bars at South Woods State Prison.
This is a state prison for male offenders located in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey. He has to spend his time behind bars till August 2032 before he can appeal for bail.
To know more about the case, watch the Philly Homicide Season 1 Episode 10 titled Dancing for the Devil on Oxygen.
