This page is an overview of the ongoing interest into the injustice that happened to Adam Katz  in 1989. Please use this as an ongoing investigation resource. This page will be updated with case-related sources -- including the full FBI case files which were acquired via a FOIA request.

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OVERVIEW:

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On October 14, 1989, Adam Katz, a 19-year-old student at the University of Hartford, died following a fatal assault at the Brendan Byrne Arena (now Meadowlands Arena) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, during a Grateful Dead concert run.

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His death was officially declared a homicide after he was found with severe head trauma, though the case remains officially unsolved with no one ever charged, despite allegations involving security personnel.

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Adam Katz was last seen by his friends inside the packed arena around 9:00 P.M. during the first set break. A motorist discovered him unconscious on a roadway near a highway overpass outside the arena around 9:30–9:45 P.M..

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Initial "cause of death" reports differed, with some officials suggesting he jumped or fell from the bridge. However, an autopsy by the Bergen County Medical Examiner found he died from a single, fatal blow to the head with a "blunt instrument". Suspicion shifted to the Security Staff employed by at the Brendan Byrne Arena. Many witnesses, concertgoers, and reports at the time accused venue security guards—often referred to as "yellow jackets"—of being involved in a violent beating. Family members and researchers have alleged a cover-up to protect the venue's reputation, arguing that Katz was beaten, placed in a security van, and dumped.

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The case became a cold case due to a lack of direct witnesses among the thousands in attendance, although FBI reports later linked fiber samples from his clothing to a security van. This tragic case has been discussed in for decades on Grateful Dead fan sites, Facebook, Reddit and books like Might As Well by Dean Budnick and featured in the Dead And Gone podcast. This webpage is dedicated to helping bring closure to the mystery of Who Killed Adam Katz.