Officers mark 40th anniversary of Good Friday Massacre in Mt. Holly

MT. HOLLY, N.J. (WPVI) -- Police officers from across the state and South Jersey marched through Mt. Holly recreating a funeral procession from 40 years ago.

March 28th marks the anniversary of the 1975 Good Friday massacre where a lone gunman fired shots from his Garden Street home.

Mt. Holly Police Patrolman Donald Aleshire and Hainesport Police Patrolman William Wurst were killed at the scene.

Mt. Holly Patrolman John Holmes was paralyzed and died from complications from his injuries in 1992.

The alleged sniper, James Carhart, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He remains in a psychiatric institution.

"John Holmes and I were riding together," said Retired Detective Pat Kennedy.

Retired officers Pat Kennedy and Dale Wolform recounted the moments of that night.

"We got separated and I went up through the alleyway and when I was coming up this alleyway then I heard the shots," said Kennedy.

"It seems like yesterday, we all had a connection to it and showed up today," said Wolform.

Every year on March 28th, the police officers are honored by the Mt. Holly Police Department where there is a memorial stone.

However, his year Mt. Holly police decided they wanted to place a plaque in their honor in the very place where the crime happened.

"This year and again the 40th anniversary, they wanted to expand that and we got permission from the owner and the residents themselves," said Chief Tom Mastrangelo, Mt. Holly Police.

Police flew family members in to see the unveiling.

"I think what the police department has done is absolutely beautiful and amazing," said Beverly Holmes, widow.

"It's just so nice after all these years to know that my dad's remembered," said John Holmes, victim's son.

Although 40 years have passed, the three fallen officers will not be forgotten.

Now family members have a new place to honor their lasting memory.

"I read a poem once that said, 'The pain never goes away, it just gets ordinary." And I think that's what it is, you just get used to having someone missing in your life," said Eileen Aleshire-Frerking, widow.