James Jerold Koedatich was born on June 12, 1948, in Morristown, New Jersey. He was the son of Julia and John Koedatich. He grew up with three brothers: John Jr., Michael, and Jeffrey. Their father, John, was known to be very abusive. He would often beat and hurt Julia, their mother. In 1956, after Julia was hospitalized, John left the family and started a new life with another woman. After this, Julia raised her four sons alone. To take care of her family, she worked three jobs. Later, she began a relationship with a man named David Baldwin.

In 1967, at the age of 19, he was arrested for unlawfully using a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to a year in prison for this offense. After his release, he continued to get into trouble and was arrested several more times for minor crimes. In 1971, he moved to Florida in search of a fresh start.

James Jerold Koedatich committed several murders during his criminal career. In Florida, while he was awaiting trial for armed robbery, he strangled his roommate Robert J. Anderson on June 13, 1971. He hid Anderson's body in a closet. Later, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

While serving his sentence, Koedatich stabbed a fellow inmate, Jerry Kent Barber, on September 4, 1973. This incident was ruled as self-defense, and he faced no charges for it. After spending eleven years in prison, he was granted parole in 1982 and moved back to Morristown, New Jersey.

On November 23, 1982, Koedatich abducted 18-year-old Amie Hoffman. After taking her to a secluded location, he sexually assaulted and stabbed her to death. He then disposed of her body in the Mendham Reservoir. The body was found two days later, and forensic evidence connected Koedatich to the crime.

On December 5, 1982, he abducted another woman, 25-year-old Deirdre O'Brian. He ran her off the road at knifepoint and attacked her at an Interstate 80 rest area. O'Brian was found alive but later died in the hospital from her injuries.

Koedatich drew the attention of investigators in January 1983 by claiming he had been stabbed while driving alone. During questioning, police noticed that his car matched the description of the vehicle used in Hoffman's abduction. They found that his reported injuries were self-inflicted. He was arrested on January 18, 1983, and charged with two counts of murder.

In the trials that followed, Koedatich was found guilty and sentenced to death. His death sentence was later overturned in 1990, and he received a life sentence instead. He remains imprisoned in New Jersey, with his next parole date set for 2038.