have been attributed to something non-homicidal in nature (such as drug overdose) if Kuklinski relied solely on the poison. However, the ligature mark around Smith's neck, and the fact that the body had been deliberately hidden, proved to investigators that he was murdered. After Barbara Deppner did not return with a car to move Smith's body, Kuklinski and Daniel Deppner placed it in between the mattress and box spring. Over the next four days, a number of patrons rented the room, and although they thought the smell in the room was odd, most of them did not think to look under the bed. Finally, on December 27, 1982, after more complaints from guests about the smell, the motel manager investigated and discovered the decomposing corpse. Murder of Daniel Deppner After Smith's murder, Kuklinski moved Deppner to an apartment in Bergenfield, New Jersey, belonging to Rich Patterson, then-fiancé of Kuklinski's daughter, Merrick. Patterson was away at the time, but Kuklinski possessed keys to the apartment. Between February and May 1983, Deppner was killed by Kuklinski. Investigators deduced he was murdered in Patterson's apartment after discovering a bloody carpet. Kuklinski enlisted Patterson's help to dispose of Deppner's body, telling Patterson the victim was a friend in trouble with law enforcement and someone had broken in and killed him over the weekend. He added it was best to dump the body to avoid trouble with the police, then forget about the incident. Kuklinski made another mistake when he informed an associate that he had killed Deppner. Deppner's corpse was discovered May 14, 1983, after a bicyclist riding Clinton Road in a wooded area of West Milford, New Jersey, spotted the corpse surrounded by vultures. Kuklinski wrapped the corpse inside green garbage bags before dumping it. Medical examiners listed Deppner's cause of death as "undetermined," although they noted pinkish spots on his skin, a possible sign of cyanide poisoning. Deppner was also strangled. Investigators guessed that Deppner had already been incapacitated, such as by poison, because the partially-eaten corpse had no defensive wounds and healthy adult men are rarely killed by strangulation. The medical examiner found Deppner's stomach full of undigested food, indicating that he had died shortly after (or during) a meal. The beans that Deppner had eaten were burned, so they reasoned the meal was home-cooked because most restaurants would not get away with serving burned food to customers. Investigating officers discovered