Ellen Elfstrom.

MUS-2026-0480

Index entry. Case details compiled from public reporting; our researchers have not verified this file yet.

Ellen Anne Elfstrom, 85, was found dead in her East Brunswick, New Jersey, home on May 1, 2009, after a neighbor called police when mail piled up and she had not been seen for several days. An autopsy about three days later showed she died from blunt-force trauma to the head, changing the case to a homicide. Investigators identified a side window as the believed point of entry. Reporting in 2019 described the homicide as a cold case, said there had been several persons of interest but no charges had been filed, and noted a Crime Stoppers reward plus a $15,000 reward offered by her daughter.

1. 2009

   On the evening of May 1, 2009, a neighbor calls East Brunswick police after not seeing Elfstrom for several days and seeing mail pile up; police find her body on her bed and she is pronounced dead at 8:19 p.m.

2. 2009

   About three days later in May 2009, an autopsy shows she died from blunt-force trauma to the head, changing the case to a homicide; police say she had possibly been dead for about a week before she was found.

3. 2009

   Investigators identify a side window as the believed point of entry, with a cord outside the house and a bucket underneath it.

4. 2019

   On March 1, 2019, reporting describes the homicide as a cold case, says there have been several persons of interest but no charges have been filed, and notes a Crime Stoppers reward plus a $15,000 reward offered by her daughter.

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• MyCentralJersey: Cold case, who killed Ellen Elfstrom
• SpotCrime: Cold cases listing