Joan was 7 years old when she was sexually assaulted and murdered while delivering her last 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to a neighbor in Hillsdale, NJ on April 19, 1973.

Although Joan's life was brutally taken by her own neighbor, Joan's spirit lives on and gave her mother, Rosemarie, the strength to have valiantly fought to keep her daughter's killer, Joseph McGowan, in prison despite parole eligibility and appeals.

The laws at the time prompted Rosemarie to help enact Joan's Law, (now passed at the State and Federal levels) which is new legislation that denies parole to anyone serving a life sentence for molesting and killing a child under age 14. Although the law is not retroactive, and cannot apply to McGowan, it was a huge step in legislation and is now on the books to help in other cases. McGowan currently remains in prison.

The Joan Angela D'Alessandro Memorial Foundation has been established to raise money to aid and protect children.

We thank you for your support.