Man accused of strangling Old Bridge girlfriend, making it look like drug death

By KEN SERRANO
STAFF WRITER

A Bloomfield man accused of making the death of his girlfriend in March look like a drug overdose has been charged with strangling the 28-year-old Old Bridge woman.

Frank P. Rendfrey, 34, was arrested on a Newark street Thursday afternoon following a lengthy investigation into the cause of the death of Angela Paranzino, whose body was found by police on March 12.

Rendfrey is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick in lieu of $1 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, May 26, before Judge Frederick DeVesa in Superior Court, New Brunswick.

Rendfrey has been charged with murder, hindering his apprehension for making the slaying seem like an overdose, and burglary and theft for allegedly taking jewelry from the victim's Rellim Drive apartment.

Old Bridge police were alerted by an unidentified relative about 9:30 p.m. March 12. 
Paranzino was pronounced dead a short time later.

Rendfrey was also charged with making terroristic threats for threatening to shoot a New York City man in an unrelated case. Details of that crime were not immediately available.

Old Bridge Detective Michael Machen and Investigator James Mullin of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, began a search for Rendfrey after the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office completed toxicological testing.

The testing showed that Paranzino had not died from a drug overdose, but was strangled, Jim O'Neill, spokesman for the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said.

O'Neill is urging anyone with information to call Machen at (732) 721-5600 at the Old Bridge Police Department or Mullin at (732) 745-4328 at the Prosecutor's Office.