John Tassinari's Love of Guns Had Nothing to Do with Wife's Murder

April 30, 2008

"My wife has been cheating on me, and I just shot her dead. Please come arrest me. . . I'm sorry."

Twenty-nine-year-old John Tassinari spoke those chilling words to an Abington, Massachusetts police dispatcher last Tuesday evening, just moments after he shot his wife, 29-year-old Barbara Tassinari, over a dozen times, in what police have described as a jealous rage.

According to police, the couple, who married in November 2004, had no history of trouble with the law.

Tassinari has been described in the press as a science prodigy who excelled in high school and went on to graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Following graduation, he became an engineer in his father’s machine firm.

Barbara graduated from Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree. From there, she went to work for her brother’s heating and air-conditioning company in Rockland. She also spent a lot of time volunteering at the Quincy Animal Shelter.

The couple had a one-year-old child together, and Barbara had a 10-year-old son from a pervious relationship.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Barbara's friends and family members have described Tassinari as an obsessive and controlling person who managed every aspect of his wife's life.

On the evening of the April 22 shooting, Barbara spent time chatting with friends and family at her sister's house. Around 9:45 p.m., Tassinari, who had reportedly been drinking, called and accused Barbara of cheating on him. After making the accusation, Tassinari allegedly demanded that she immediately come home.

Just 15 minutes later Barbara was dead. Police say Tassinari shot her dead in the driveway of their home, shooting her over a dozen times with both a .45-caliber and a .40-caliber handgun.

After placing the 9-1-1 call, Tassinari walked back outside, where he was greeted by his brother-in-law, Francis Scolaro, 44. Scolaro, who lived on the same street, had heard the shots and came running over. "You killed my sister!" Scolaro screamed as he pointed his own .32-caliber handgun at Tassinari's head...

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Image Credit: Contributed Photo

Police Say Josef Fritzl Had Seven Children With Daughter He Held Captive For 24 Years

April 29, 2008

Police in Amstetten, Austria are investigating a 73-old-man who they say held his 42-year-old daughter prisoner in a cellar for the last 24 years.  Police also allege the man, identified only as Josef Fritzl, fathered seven children with his daughter, Elisabeth Fritzl, one of whom died at birth.

Details remain sketchy, but it appears that the case began to unravel on April 19, when one of the imprisoned children, 19-year-old Kerstin Fritzl, fell seriously ill.  According to police, Josef took Kerstin to a local hospital for treatment.  He allegedly informed hospital staff that Kerstin was his granddaughter and that her mother had been missing since 1984.  However, unbeknownst to Josef, Elisabeth had hidden a note on her daughter, alerting hospital staff that she was being held captive in her father's basement.

While police investigated the case, the hospital issued a public appeal, asking that Elisabeth's mother come forward to help them diagnose Kerstin's ailments.  Elisabeth saw the televised appeal Saturday and somehow convinced her father to take her to the hospital.  As those events began to unfold, police reportedly received the results of DNA tests that the hospital had conducted which revealed that Kerstin's grandfather was also her father.  Shortly thereafter, police intercepted Josef and Elisabeth en route to the hospital.

According to police, Elisabeth appeared "greatly disturbed" and would agree to speak with authorities only after they promised her that she would not have to have any further contact with her father.  Once satisfied with the reassurances that she received from the authorities, Elisabeth began to recount a story which police would later refer to in the press as "one of Austria's all-time worst crimes..."

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Photo's Courtesy of Austrian police

Police and Media Should Review Missing Person Guidelines

April 28, 2008

The evolution of crime journalism is both disturbing and disheartening. Too often missing persons go unreported by major media outlets because they do not fall into a specific category. If you're not white, blonde and good-looking, then you had better hope that you never go missing. If you do, there is a good chance that your case will receive little media coverage.  Unfortunately, this form of "media profiling" also spills over into unsolved homicide cases. If you are the victim of a homicide and your family wants the media to help catch your killer, you had better think ahead and do your best to ensure your murder occurs in a quiet suburban neighborhood, otherwise your case probably will not warrant even a two-minute mention on any of the major media outlets.

However, all is not lost. There are exceptions to the "white, blonde and good-looking" rule. If your death was horribly graphic, or if you have a social networking page on MySpace or Youtube, your case could provide the media with fodder for an editorial. A case in point is the recent murder of 17-year-old Heather Walker (photo here) in Dayton, Ohio...

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