Slain Manchester Man Anthony Verdicchio Treated Neighbors, Friends Like Family

It was just something Wawa employees expected every day.

Anthony Verdicchio would come in every day, buy a small cup of coffee and a plain donut, and spend some time “chit chatting.”

Then, the 76-year-old Plainfield native would head over to the News Stand and volunteer, selling newspapers.

On Monday morning, May 13, Verdicchio didn't stop by Wawa. He never made it to the News Stand.

Just down the street, at Verdicchio’s home at Pine Acres Manor, one of his friends would discover Verdicchio deceased in his home later that night. The cause of death was several traumatic blows to the face and head, and his death would be ruled a homicide.

As of Thursday evening, May 16, Manchester Police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office continued to have the area surrounding Verdicchio’s home surrounded in yellow tape for the fourth consecutive day. No suspects had been arrested and no persons of interest had been identified, according to Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Spokesman Al DellaFave.

“He was always asking about my kids,” said Wawa employee Deb Shivard , who knew Verdicchio before he became a Wawa regular. “I’ve known him for 13-15 years. I met him when he was setting up the papers at the News Stand.

“He talked to a lot of people when he came in here.”

Verdicchio was originally from Plainfield. When he moved to Manchester Township, he sold ceramic tiles. Later on, he would work for the News Stand, and beyond that, he would volunteer at the shop on Route 37 East.

“He was like a family member,” said Mary Ann Conover, who worked with Verdicchio at the News Stand and grew up in South Plainfield. “He treated my kids like they were his own.”

The two met when they worked together before they both worked at the News Stand.

“We had a lot in common. He was from up north and I was from the same area,” Conover said.

Verdicchio would play with four of Conover’s grandchildren, including in the store.  Her children called him “Uncle Tony.”

“It’s why people come back, because we treat customers like we want to be treated,” Conover said. “ … Everybody knew him. He’d talk to an ant on the sidewalk if he thought it would talk back.”

Verdicchio would meet with the same group every day, and Conover’s husband was in that group. When Verdicchio didn’t show up on Monday, her husband webt looking for him, and he discovered him unresponsive on the floor of his home. He called Manchester Police, who pronounced him dead at 6:37 p.m.

Conover described the loss as devastating.

“There’s no reason for it,” Conover said. “There’s no reason for that to happen to anybody.”

“I’ve known him since he moved in,” Pine Acres resident Ruth Jarvis said. “He was a good friend to me. He would plow the snow from my driveway when it snowed during the winter.

“I can’t fathom who would want to harm him.”

Jarvis described him as a regular guy who worked for a living and wanted to get the most out of life.

Jarvis invited Verdicchio to have dinner at her house with her family on Christmas Eve a couple of times.

Jarvis has lived in Pine Acres Manor for over 20 years. Pine Acres has always been a quiet place. This is not just out of the ordinary; it never happens.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before,” said Kenny Mancuso, who has lived in Pine Acres for about 13 years. “This place is quiet. The most you get here is a go-kart or a motorbike coming through here.”

“I don’t lock my doors at night,” said Bill Mason, a resident of Pine Acres for 19 years. “That’s the way it is up and down the street, but now, some people are getting nervous. My door’s always open.”

The incident has shaken Jarvis.

“I don’t want to be nervous,” Jarvis said. “I found myself going to the door three times the other day to make sure it was locked and I thought, ‘What am I doing?’”

Verdicchio wasn’t the kind of person to make sure his door was locked at night.

“If you went by his house and didn’t wave to him, he would get offended,” Jarvis said. “He waved to everyone.

“Whatever the reason was for this, it wasn’t good enough. The neighborhood is going to miss him because everyone loved him.”