No ‘smiley face serial killers’ throwing people in the river in Hoboken: police chief
HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante reassured city residents Sunday that there’s no “smiley face serial killers” throwing people into the Hudson River.
His statement comes after the body of a 27-year-old missing man from Maryland was found in the river near the Lackawanna Ferry Station. About 15-20 bodies have been found in the Hudson near Hoboken over the last eight years. None of those deaths were homicides.
“I can assure you that there are no current threats to the public regarding the waterfront and there have not been over the past 8 years,” he wrote. “There is no ‘smiley face serial killers’ throwing people in the river in Hoboken.”
According to Ferrante, some point to a 2014 incident when sharing theories around the bodies. At the time, a man claimed he was thrown into the water. Police determined the man made the story up, but that information was never released to the public.
“Every time we have the unfortunate situation of someone going into the river, people point to that false story and account,” Ferrante wrote.