Michael Melsky studied both Criminal Justice and Religion at Moravian College where he received a Bachelor of Arts. He later graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Academy and has been employed for 25 years working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He has been researching this case since January 2000, and has utilized numerous archives although his main archival source is the New Jersey State Police Headquarters. He has been acknowledged in many case related material, and was also a member of the team who produced the posthumous pardon application to President Bush for Ellis H. Parker in 2008.