Retrial begins in East Rutherford woman's killing: What each attorney said

HACKENSACK — The retrial of a man accused of killing an East Rutherford real estate agent in 2012 began Wednesday with opening arguments.

Daniel Rochat is accused of brutally beating Barbara Vernieri, setting her on fire while she was still alive and trying to cover up the crime scene. Rochat had his 2016 conviction overturned by an appellate court in 2022.

During his opening statements, Assistant Prosecutor Dave Malfitano said Vernieri was a vibrant woman who was a caring mother and grandmother, who was well-regarded and prided herself on her appearance. He said she was often seen neatly dressed, wearing beautiful jewelry, including 2- to 3-carat diamond rings.

She was a real estate agent at Kurgan-Bergen Realtors, where she often took young agents under her wing. It was at Kurgan-Bergen where Vernieri met Rochat, whose father, Gene, was a part-owner, and he worked there from time to time.

Malfitano said that at first glance, Rochat seems like an average guy with a large circle of friends who liked to spend time at the Jersey Shore.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Malfitano said.

He said that while Vernieri and her late husband had socialized with the Rochat family, she did not socialize with Daniel Rochat.

The night of Barbara Vernieri's death

Malfitano briefly described the events that occurred on the day of the killing. He told the jury that a married couple who lived above Vernieri, and considered her a surrogate grandmother, called her when they heard her carbon monoxide alarm going off. When they didn't receive an answer, they opened the door and called to her and then went downstairs to knock on her door, receiving no answer.

When they went into the backyard, they saw a plastic bag tied to the door handle and the screen cut. As they got close, Malfitano said, there was an overwhelming odor of gasoline and a haze of smoke, prompting them to call 911.

Vernieri's body was found next to her husband's favorite armchair, beaten and burned. The prosecution said the medical examiner will testify that Vernieri had soot in her throat, carbon monoxide in her system, defensive wounds and bruises and lacerations of her head, face and hands, and that her tibia, the second-biggest bone in the body, was shattered.

Malfitano said the county Sheriff's Office and Prosecutor's Office spent three days going over Vernieri's house, finding gasoline pour patterns and attempts to clean the crime scene and the smoke detector smashed to pieces.

Malfitano told the jury that two days before Vernieri's death, Rochat went to her house for the first time.

He told them to listen to the two statements he gave the detectives and their inconsistencies; that his shoes were similar to a pattern found at the crime scene, the fact that his cellphone pinged two-tenths of a mile from Vernieri's home, and the Y-STR male line DNA found under Vernieri's nails.

The prosecution said that although it isn't required to prove motive, it believes that Rochat owed his ex-girlfriend $11,000 and she broke off their two-year, on-again-off-again relationship the week Vernieri was killed. Malfitano said Vernieri's jewelry was rummaged through.

Daniel Rochat's defense

Defense attorney Anthony Pope countered Malfitano's opening by saying the prosecution had no real direct evidence to place Rochat at Vernieri's home on Sept. 14, 2012.

Pope implored the jurors to think about the evidence that would be placed before them and to keep an open mind. He told them that Rochat, from day one, had maintained his innocence.

Pope also disagreed with the prosecution's characterization of Vernieri's relationship with Rochat as just a co-worker, saying she introduced him to his ex-fiancée and that she felt strongly enough about his character to introduce the pair.

Pope said the prosecution is spinning the story to fit its narrative. He said Rochat went to Vernieri's home two days before she was killed because his car broke down in the area and that she interacted with him the next day because she wanted him to help her with something.

He pointed to a statement made by Malfitano during his opening about how technology in 2012 is not the same as in 2024. Pope posited that the claim that Rochat's phone was placed two-tenths of a mile from Vernieri's phone is based on estimations and approximations.

Pope said detectives found no video evidence of Rochat jumping over the fence into Vernieri's backyard.

He said Rochat must be Spider-Man, the Invisible Man and Houdini because he jumped over the fence with no evidence of his leaving the scene and no evidence in his apartment, his car or his parents' home. He said Rochat had no scratch marks on his body and that the beating Vernieri received would have left marks.

He noted that the DNA evidence just proves the DNA found under Vernieri's nails was male DNA and not that it was Rochat's.

"Did he take $11,000? There's no evidence of it, no evidence that jewelry was taken," Pope said. "They're saying that because they don't have anything else."

Pope also said that contradictions in Rochat's statements to detectives didn't make them any less true.

"There are people who testify all the time who are wrong, but that doesn't mean they're lying," Pope said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Daniel Rochat retrial in Bergen County court begins