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Rain of Bullets: The True Story of Ernest Ingenito's Bloody Family Massacre
The triple-deck page 1 headline in the Woodbury Times, "Five Killed, Four Wounded When Vet Stages Maniacal Shooting Spree Against Family of Wife," capsulized a Nov. 17, 1950 murder rampage that history still records as one of the worst in Gloucester County history.
Sixty years later, veteran crime writer Patricia A. Martinelli, a life-long Vineland resident, revisits the deadly saga in her new book, Rain of Bullets, due to be released Feb. 1 (Stackpole Books, $24.95).
"One of the main reasons I wanted to write this book is because this type of domestic violence is still so common, not just in South Jersey but throughout the United States," Martinelli says.
Martinelli, who covered the courts and wrote feature stories for the Vineland Times Journal and Bridgeton Evening News before turning to books, is a 1978 graduate of Glassboro State College with a degree in American History.
"Rain of Bullets" is her fifth book since 2004 (Haunted New Jersey, Haunted Delaware, True Crime New Jersey, and True Crime Pennsylvania) with a sixth (True Crime Ohio) in progress.
This book traces the story from the night of the crime to the trials and many appeals that followed in a case that many in South Jersey still vividly recall.
According to police accounts, Ernest Ingenito went to the Franklin Township home of his in-laws the night of Nov. 17 to request a visit with his two young sons who were living with his in-laws, Michael and Pearl Mazzoli, and his estranged wife, Theresa.
Denied visitation, Ingenito reportedly began shooting with two handguns and a rifle he brought with him.
Before the shooting spree ended, five were dead: Both in-laws, plus Theresa's grandmother and her uncle and aunt, Frank and Hilda Mazzoli, who were shot later in Minotola, where they lived. Among the four wounded were Theresa, who was able to call police, and Theresa's 9-year-old cousin. He spared the lives of his children.
After a failed attempt to commit suicide, Ingenito told the judge at his arraignment he didn't want to talk further.
At his trial, which was covered by the national media, Ingenito was given a life sentence, causing a furor among family members who wanted the death sentence, and a retrial that brought him five life sentences.
But New Jersey had no provision for life without the possibility of parole at the time and Ingenito served 23 years before his release. Then he worked odd jobs in the Trenton area.
He was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a minor in 1994, at age 70, went back to prison, and died there of heart failure in 1995.
Martinelli, who is related to the Mazzoli family, took a year to write the book and says it has been very thoroughly researched.
Sixty years later, veteran crime writer Patricia A. Martinelli, a life-long Vineland resident, revisits the deadly saga in her new book, Rain of Bullets, due to be released Feb. 1 (Stackpole Books, $24.95).
"One of the main reasons I wanted to write this book is because this type of domestic violence is still so common, not just in South Jersey but throughout the United States," Martinelli says.
Martinelli, who covered the courts and wrote feature stories for the Vineland Times Journal and Bridgeton Evening News before turning to books, is a 1978 graduate of Glassboro State College with a degree in American History.
"Rain of Bullets" is her fifth book since 2004 (Haunted New Jersey, Haunted Delaware, True Crime New Jersey, and True Crime Pennsylvania) with a sixth (True Crime Ohio) in progress.
This book traces the story from the night of the crime to the trials and many appeals that followed in a case that many in South Jersey still vividly recall.
According to police accounts, Ernest Ingenito went to the Franklin Township home of his in-laws the night of Nov. 17 to request a visit with his two young sons who were living with his in-laws, Michael and Pearl Mazzoli, and his estranged wife, Theresa.
Denied visitation, Ingenito reportedly began shooting with two handguns and a rifle he brought with him.
Before the shooting spree ended, five were dead: Both in-laws, plus Theresa's grandmother and her uncle and aunt, Frank and Hilda Mazzoli, who were shot later in Minotola, where they lived. Among the four wounded were Theresa, who was able to call police, and Theresa's 9-year-old cousin. He spared the lives of his children.
After a failed attempt to commit suicide, Ingenito told the judge at his arraignment he didn't want to talk further.
At his trial, which was covered by the national media, Ingenito was given a life sentence, causing a furor among family members who wanted the death sentence, and a retrial that brought him five life sentences.
But New Jersey had no provision for life without the possibility of parole at the time and Ingenito served 23 years before his release. Then he worked odd jobs in the Trenton area.
He was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a minor in 1994, at age 70, went back to prison, and died there of heart failure in 1995.
Martinelli, who is related to the Mazzoli family, took a year to write the book and says it has been very thoroughly researched.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2010
21 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 2, 2018
poorly written. The author points out the many reasons ingenito acted as he did yet she cant figure out why he did. The book features photos or Ernies' 41 Ford sedan that the author claims is a coupe! The author does has very little knowledge of guns-she doesnt know the difference between a magazine and a clip! The author tries to avoid the fact that Ernie married into dysfunctional family who refused to let go of their daughter and let him and his family live a life of their own. They took his wife to a doctor who gave her "shots" to attempt to abort their second child, expected him and his family to live with them and work their farm. They knew he was temperamental to the point of being dangerous yet continued to push him-get out, our daughter is divorcing you and you cant see your sons-they knew he was armed, Mike Mazzoli began pushing him out the door as Ernie held a 9 millimeter pistol on him, Mike wasnt afraid, seconds later he was dead. The author claims she is related to the Mazzolis by marriage, no wonder she takes such a biased view making Ernie look like a monster ignoring the fact that the mazzolis pushed him to far.
February 28, 2012
This has to be the worst of the hundreds of true crime books I have read. Potential here for so much more...a man shoots nine members of his estranged wife's extended family killing five of them. Does the author explore how the survivors coped with this horrible tragedy? Is there any followup of how they were affected by their loss? Do we even get details from the officials involved regarding their perceptions of the victims or the perp? No!! Instead it's an endless litany of the murderer's feelings of being mistreated, misrepresented and ignored. Page after boring page of descriptions of letters he writes and attorneys he abuses & then fires, and his attempts to negate the seriousness of his actions. This was a free book and I still feel like I've been ripped off. If I could give this book less than one star I would. Very disappointing.
November 4, 2025
I love true crime books, typically . "Rain of Bullets" had an interesting premise, but the execution fell short. The pacing dragged in places, and the characters never felt fully developed, making it hard to stay invested.
While the historical details were well-researched, the story lacked emotional depth and tension. Overall, it had potential but didn’t quite deliver the impact it promised, and felt dry.
While the historical details were well-researched, the story lacked emotional depth and tension. Overall, it had potential but didn’t quite deliver the impact it promised, and felt dry.
November 25, 2025
I read this book as it was recommended to me by a distant family member of the families involved. If I didn't have this "link" to read it, I would have DNFed it. So long winded...could have been shortened in half. On the pro side, this was an incident I had no idea of and it was interesting to learn about this sad history. I also saw some of my own relatives involved (one of the judges) and thought it was interesting I'd never heard of this case before.
October 6, 2019
This book isn't particularly well written, but it's a true crime story about something that happened in my town. I was acquainted with descendents of some of the victims and when I read the book I discovered our neighbor, for whom I did chores, and was one of our choir teachers in church, was on the jury!
September 4, 2019
Horrific story but way too much detail about the murderer post-trial. I didn't need to know that much about his appeals, firing and rehiring of attorneys, etc. It doesn't seem like the survivors wanted to contribute to this book, which is understandable, so it's really missing the personal touch that would have made it more emotional and hard-hitting. If you read through The Trial chapter, and skip to the Epilogue, it's an interesting and informative read.
November 18, 2022
Interesting
Interesting relatively unknown true crime. A little dry in spots, but overall good. It paints a good picture of the bungling of justice.
Interesting relatively unknown true crime. A little dry in spots, but overall good. It paints a good picture of the bungling of justice.
June 18, 2025
This is one of my least favorite genres. I read it for a book club. I must say I was captivated by the writing. The characters are all interesting and complex. Very well done.
January 24, 2014
I read this book last year because I learned from family members about this story that took place in our area some 60 years ago. Crime/murder books are not my usual choice but I was intrigued that this happened in our area of Piney Hollow. Pioppi, Mazzoli, and many other local family names pop up in the book. Man slaughters family members of his estranged wife in revenge for not being granted visitation of his two young sons. Although I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, I couldn't for the following reasons:
1. Too many unimportant facts about the trial.
2. Book needed to focus more on what became of the victims and their families and focus less on the trial (which became drawn out).
3. Did not enjoy the writing style. Choppy at best.
I did like the fact that the author is a Vineland resident. So I would recommend this book only to locals who want to know about this crime. All others will be bored.
1. Too many unimportant facts about the trial.
2. Book needed to focus more on what became of the victims and their families and focus less on the trial (which became drawn out).
3. Did not enjoy the writing style. Choppy at best.
I did like the fact that the author is a Vineland resident. So I would recommend this book only to locals who want to know about this crime. All others will be bored.
February 2, 2016
A good read about a terrible crime. The author effectively takes us back to the early Fifties, sets the scene for us, and describes where it all went wrong. She takes a lot of liberties, for instance saying what this or that person was thinking at a given moment when she couldn't have known, but it's easy to see when she's doing it. There were some maddening gaps in the information, however, and I can see that she left those holes unfilled in order to respect the wishes of people who did not want to be interviewed. This book could really have benefitted from a diagram of family tree involved -- almost everyone was related somehow to almost everyone else in the story and at times it made for a confusing read. That did not keep me from reading it through to the last word.
September 25, 2013
This one dragged on a bit too much in regards to some of the history of the people in the book. Honestly this was a case that could have been written about as a newspaper story.
The crime was discussed right away in the book which isn't a bad thing, but it made me feel like there was nothing else to read. I think I would have possibly held more interest in the book if the history of the people involved would have been talked about earlier in the book rather than later. To be honest I really didn't care about where their parents came from etc after reading about the crime.
The crime was discussed right away in the book which isn't a bad thing, but it made me feel like there was nothing else to read. I think I would have possibly held more interest in the book if the history of the people involved would have been talked about earlier in the book rather than later. To be honest I really didn't care about where their parents came from etc after reading about the crime.
July 27, 2015
Sad Story
This book was written well that though, like most crime stories it is depressing. The tremendous amount of research showed. EVIL person with no conscious was this murderer.
This book was written well that though, like most crime stories it is depressing. The tremendous amount of research showed. EVIL person with no conscious was this murderer.
June 7, 2022
Heard this story while growing up while sitting around the dinner table. Was told that the family went to the review every year he went up for release in order to voice their concerns. Mike and Frank Mazzoli were my grandmother's brothers. Very interesting read.
December 17, 2011
There is no meat and potatoes to this book. It is pretty much just the facts.
December 18, 2011
The book started out good, but the last 3rd or the book seemed repetitive and had a lot of spelling errors.. To the point of distraction.
May 22, 2012
It was ok. It got very lengthy in the middle talking about all his appeals. There was a lot of repitition and jumping around.
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December 7, 2013False
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews