He also asked Gerry to help dispose of a blood-stained sofa and carpet into a dumpster, which was managed by a third brother, Louis. If you were really going to get the feds involved, you would contact him," Connolly said. Exceptional Care for Children, Delaware's only pediatric skilled nursing facility, recently received a $225,000 donation from the Louis Capano Family Foundation toward the construction of their Bridge Unit building. Boston attorney Joseph S. Oteri, whose clients have included drug dealers, wasreferred to Capano in 1998. In one of the case's most surprising twists, the abandoned cooler was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean by four fishermen about a week after Gerry Capano unsuccessfully tried to sink it by firing a slug into it with a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. On July 5, 1996, Clinton said the federal government would help with the search. The empty cooler was found on July 4, 1996, by a local fisherman. ", Helmbreck wrote in a November 2017 essay for The News Journal that the conversation"reeked of manipulation and coercion. Capano Management is a privately held, fully integrated real estate company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware whose strategic acquisition, financing, development, home building, leasing and property management expertise deliver proven returns across a diverse real estate portfolio comprised of over 6,000 multi-family apartment residences, with an additional 2,000 residences in development . But, after a defendant's death, it is then offered to the defense and/or destroyed after a period of time. New Jersey had the highest population of Capano families in 1880. Twenty years ago onJan. 17, 1999 a frigid, Sunday morning ajury found Capanoguilty ofkilling 30-year-old Anne Marie Fahey,a scheduling secretary for then-Gov. As Lee squirmed inside the cooler, the lid wouldn't close. William Swain Lee,the Superior Court judge who presided over the trial,said he was walking on the beach Saturday, January 16, 1999, when hisbeeper went off. Capano was questioned twice on June 30 at his $2,000 a month rental home at 2302 Grant Ave. in the citys Highlands neighborhood. It closed in December 2004. WILMINGTON - The WRK Group, a collective of three nonprofit organizations that includes The Warehouse, REACH Riverside and Kingswood Community Center working together to revitalize the Riverside and northeast Wilmington neighborhoods, recently received a $300,000 donation from the Louis Capano Family Foundation (LCFF). The next working day, July 8, the FBI called us.. "My eyes were closed for sure," she said. 2001). The family trust of Louis J. Capano Jr ., a well-known homebuilder in Delaware, paid $18.5 million for an oceanfront mansion in Manalapan. Married with four daughters, Capano separated from his wife Kay the following year. In 2001, a television movie based on Rule's book was made, And Never Let Her Go, starring Mark Harmon as Capano and Kathryn Morris as Fahey. Folded up is a then-fashionable, size 6, cream-and-blue floral Laura Ashley dress. The News Journal 0:00 0:32 Developer Joseph L. Capano pleaded guilty to bank fraud and knowingly violating the Clean Water Act. But Capanos insistence on running the case got in the way. I just felt how he dealt with people was top-notch. He (Tom) was very prominent. Joseph M. Capano, a prominent New Castle County developer whose brother Thomas committed one of the most notorious murders in Delaware history, died Monday of an apparent heart attack, his. No damage or anything. "The lead story of The News Journal that day wasPresident Clinton offered federal assistance [to find Anne Marie Fahey, who had not been seen since June 27]. Inside of it rests a 12-gauge shotgun. Thomas Joseph Capano, the oldest brother, was a disbarred lawyer and former Delaware deputy attorney general who died in prison in 2011. The building went up for sale in 2001 and later became a salon and spa. Investigators searchCapanos house for 11 hours on July 31 and find two tiny drops of blood that they later learn matches a sampleof Faheys blood plasma. Wharton saidnot too long before Capano'sarrest, he saw him while walking his dogdown Wilmington's Delaware Avenue. The most Capano families were found in USA in 1920. ", Lee said he never knew Capano "personally, when he had the reputation of being a charming man, but in the setting in which I knew him, he was more rodent-like. Connolly questions him on the stand for the prosecution, and Oteri delves into the encounter with MacIntrye. The day after Fahey's mysterious June 1996 death, Capano, with the help of his youngest brother, Gerry, used the cooler to transport Fahey's body to Gerry's boat Summer Windat Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Then 39, county police charged him with kidnapping and raping a 27-year-old woman in his home on Halloween night. "That's the end of friendship.". They frequently met up at OFriels Irish Pub, a then-popular bar in downtown Wilmington. "We both laughed. Fishermen turned it over to authorities after reading about Capano's arrest in the newspaper. The case was revived again in 2006 when Capano's death sentence was overturned. Erin Reilly Lee, also known as Juror No. This marked the first time in Delaware state history, in which a person was convicted of murder, without a body or murder weapon. I was older, more secure, happily married, and frankly, Id been played by better. Ties could be made to Capano and Fahey, both from large Wilmington-area families with high-profile jobs. Both cases have been consolidated into one, and discovery is underway. Off the record. Delaware developer Joseph M. Capano dies at age 62 - The News Journal "After the first two jurors had beenpicked, three straight selections involvedsingle women in their mid- to late-20s. "Joe Oteri arrived on the scene with a lotof bluster to assume the role of lead counsel at Tom's urging. During the nearly three-year saga, Joseph's two other brothers, including younger sibling Gerard, were implicated in the sensational case in the late 1990s that generated four books, several television documentaries and a made-for-TV movie. Joseph M. Capano, a prominent New Castle County developer whose brother Thomas committed one of the most notorious murders in Delaware history, died Monday of an apparent heart attack, his brother-in-law said Tuesday. Why? 2023 www.delawareonline.com. The climb into the cooler-turned-casket helped convinceErin Reilly Lee and the jury of five other women and six menthat Capano was a manipulative liar,a cold-blooded killer. Ramunno filed a lawsuit in April seeking. "I'm not sure why. 20 years later: 12 details about Thomas Capano murder trial Wharton said, years later,family members had an encounter with a main witness fromthe trial. Two days later, family and friends, concerned that she failed to keep a dinner date with Scanlan at her brothers house, went to her 1718 Washington St. apartment on the third-floor and found it empty. His brother Louis says thestained sofa and rug were put into a dumpster on one of his properties. There was nothing charming about him at all. The search is messy, and officers come up empty. Immediately, Bob and I looked at each other, and thought, 'Oh my goodness, he rolled her up in the carpet. According to testimony, he turned around in time to see a human foot sink into the deep waters. [5], Investigators did not have a murder weapon or a body, nor any evidence that Capano had purchased a gun. Murder Victim. "He had gained a massive amount of weight since the trial,"Connolly said. The case was also portrayed in the Season 1, Third Episode of the NBC series Boomtown (October 13, 2002). Rebecca Capano Obituary (1947 - 2020) - Wilmington, DE - The News Journal That's the end of friendship," Hurley said. are frequent questions that start a connect-the-dots conversation about common acquaintances. He knows the law. ", "As we were leaving, Mr. Oteri, the lead defense attorney andcertainly the most flamboyant of the group, said, 'Can I go off the record, Judge? Probably because I didn't want to see.". The last thing we wanted on a jury was women under 30 with a college education because they would identify immediately with the victim, Boston lawyer Oteri said. 2023 www.delawareonline.com. "I had torun about amile to get back to my car, drive to my house to get to a telephone, and call in," he said. Lee said itit wasastonishing that the cooler had been found. Only I wasnt buying it. Joseph Capano was the third of four sons of custom homebuilder Louis J. Capano Sr. and his wife, Marguerite. Thomas Capano, a prominent Democrat, was one of four brothers. In September 1995, Fahey met Scanlan, who was unmarried and closer to her age. The Louis Capano Family Foundation was established as a public charitable organization in 2006 by Louis J. Capano Jr. and Louis J. Capano III to raise essential funding and awareness for the nonprofits of Delaware with a specific focus on children and families in need. The defense lawyers wanted to strike her, but Capano insisted on keeping her because, I think, he thought, he could charm her.. Under the circumstances, thatwasn't what you expected the defense to be allowing,"Lee said. "He said, 'Well, I'llcall over to Wilmington, and we'll offer our services.' It's important for me because I didn't know.". Capano Foundation donates $225,000 to Exceptional Care for Children. We held him in extremely high regard," Way said. At the end of the phone call, Capano agreed to an on-the-record interview. Helmbreck said Capano was"trying to seduce me into seeing his vision of Anne Marie Fahey, seeing his version of reality. Lee, wholeft her high heels on to compensate for Fahey's height,wanted to see if a body would fit. Lurid elements swirling around the capital murder trial of wealthy Wilmington lawyer Thomas Capano captivated the public and made it one of the most. The highly publicized case went to trial on October 26, 1998, and lasted twelve weeks. "They wanted the record madeclear thatshould not be a basis forquestioning their competenceduring the proceedings. Keith R. Brady, who is then Delawares chief deputy attorney and Whartons superior, is called to testify about a sexual encounter he had five years earlier with MacIntyre while Capano watched. Since 2013, Joseph Capano had been in a bitter lawsuit with his brother Louis J. Capano Jr. over their multimillion-dollar real estate empire, which includes Midway Plaza shopping center on Kirkwood Highway and Brandywine Plaza II on Concord Pike. Capano also knew some of Faheys hidden secrets, such as she suffered from eating disorders. We were very discreet about that, the way we phrased our questions, but Oteri was not. Wharton remembers that day. Convicted Murderer Capano Dies in Prison - NBC10 Philadelphia Things quickly went from bad to worse, Maurer said, especially whenCapanodecided that his chances would be better by hiring an outsider from Boston, where he had attended school at Boston College. The prosecutionwas led by Colm F. Connolly, a then 33-year-old assistant U.S. attorney who had never before tried a murder case. The Louis Capano Family Foundation (LCFF) was established as a 501c3 private foundation in 2006 by Louis J. Capano Jr. and Louis J. Capano III. Capano Creek, river in Texas; References This page was last edited on 20 . On July 26, 1996, he and Wilmington police investigator Bob Donovan discovered, through financial records, Capano had made a purchase at a company listed as Wallpaper Warehousetwo days after Fahey was last seen in public alive. "His father died of a heart attack, he knew he had a heart condition. The Capano family name was found in the USA, and Scotland between 1871 and 1920. Joseph Capano Obituary (2015) - Wilmington, DE - The News Journal Joe. Lurid elementsswirling aroundthe capital murder trial of wealthy Wilmington lawyer Thomas Capanocaptivated the public and made it one of the most sensational and dramatic court cases in Delaware history. Louis J Capano Jr & III Family Foundation - Capano Jr. & II Family Joe was a graduate of Salesianum. It was a key piece of evidence in the haunting case that still resonates 20 years after Capano's November 1997 arrest because it echoes current headlines: men in positions of power trying to exert absolute control over their alleged victims. Giving Back: Capano Foundation, Operation Warm - Delaware Business Now Oh my God," Fellheimer said. Louis Joseph Capano, Sr. was born on month day 1923, in . When the cooler wouldn't sink after firing a bullet into it, Tom Capano then dumped Fahey'sbody into the Atlantic Ocean. I waschairman of the Delaware Hospice Festivalof Trees, an annual fundraiser, and we needed to schedule thegovernor to speak. Fahey, a pretty and vivacious woman, went to dinner on June 27 with Capano at Ristorante Panorama on Front Street in Philadelphia. Anne Marie Sinead Fahey (1966-1996) - Find a Grave Memorial I didn't say a word during the conservation Other than that, I didn't know anything about him.". Capanos brother Joseph, who died of a heart attack in 2015, said he told Tom to buy the cooler as a gift for brother Gerry. Capano gets prison in Riverbend development case - The News Journal She was Delaware Governor Thomas Carper's scheduling secretary. When we were deliberating, its something that we kept coming back to, Lee said. And everybody knows of Capano because of all thedevelopment that they did, Wharton said. Politics. I know he's living in a rental house, so he wouldn't be buying wallpaper. Gerry told the court that Tom Capano vomited, then put a body into the ocean. In February of that year, the state abandoned its efforts to seek capital punishment, opting to leave Capano imprisoned for life without parole. Essays and"As Told To" stories include thoughts from Connolly and Wharton, defense attorneys Maurer and Oteri, retired Judge Lee, former News Journal reporter Valerie Helmbreck, former Wilmington restaurateur Anthony Stella, juror Erin Reilly Leeand psychiatrist Neil Kaye. Louis Capano - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage They went to Stone Harbor, New Jersey, with a large cooler that contained Fahey's body,[citation needed] sailed 62 miles (100km) out to sea, and pushed the cooler overboard. The neighbor claims the area was lit by floodlights. Oteri's brash style became one of the trial's hallmarks, but he said the defense was full of challenges. Marilee Capano Obituary - Death Notice and Service Information Wilmington - Rebecca "Becky" Capano", age 72, loving wife of Mario B. Capano, died unexpectedly at home on Friday, June 19, 2020. ", It touched upon Capano'slove of music and places in Wilmington, some no longer open. The underlying civil suit is a suit by the family and estate of Anne Marie Fahey against Thomas Capano, his brothers Louis, Gerard, and Joseph, and several Capano family business entities. Twenty years after he was arrested, the Thomas J. Capano murder mystery continues to fascinate because of its alluring and grim elements: sex, power, wealth, politics, secret affairs, lurid moments and an extraordinary reversal of fortune that wouldn't ring true if written in a crime novel. Police looked through his home and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but, at that time, found no signs of Fahey. They also find Capano has visited a Happy Harrys store in Trolley Square on June 30 and asks about a blood remover. 0:41 The key players Anne Marie Fahey, 30, was a single, tall, pretty and vivacious woman involved for three years in an affair with Thomas Capano, a wealthy attorney and married man with four. Gerry owned a boat and, when it was sold, its two anchors were missing. In the old courthousetwo decades ago, she talked about her longtime affair with Capanoand about buying a gun for him six weeks before Fahey died. More:ARCHIVE: Capano held in murder of Anne Marie Fahey, More:ARCHIVE: The Capanos: A house in ruins. He provided other incriminating evidence, including getting rid of a sofa with a basketball-sized bloodstain, and a rug. I kind of didnt really hear a whole lot after that because I was thinking, My mom is going to kill me. Capano belonged to a prominent family of Delaware real estate developers and building contractors. In February 1998, Deborah MacIntyre, a longtime Capano girlfriend, also signs a plea agreement and becomes a witness for the prosecution. Fellheimer later called Capano a client whose company he enjoyed. He was 62. After a night dining out in Philadelphia,Capano apparently shot Faheyat his rentedhome in Wilmington's Highlands neighborhood and jammedherbody into a cooler. ", He also added, "the two prosecutors were straight as arrows. While Louis Capano managed to have some allegations in the complaints against him dismissed by Vice Chancellor John W. Noble, the two cases continue. Joseph Capano also was no stranger controversy in business. Jurors helped the young woman into the cooler and then watched as Lee tried to "squoosh myself smaller" to give others anaccurate picture. Joseph denied the rape charge, saying he was having an affair with the woman, who once babysat his children. "OK," Lee remembers another juror saying. Joseph was not charged in the case, but his two other brothers, Louis Jr. and Gerard, pleaded guilty to assisting Tom Capano after the murder. Capano ordered the food without consulting Fahey. The man the family called "Tommy," the obituary said, was known for "his impeccable taste: blasting old classics the Temptations, the Four Seasons, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, or the Rolling Stones at full volume while waiting to pick up pizza from Gallucio's; allowing his daughters to skip school on their birthdays for a luxurious lunch at the Rodney Square Club; ordering an assortment of mouthwatering seafood from DiNardo's with extra Old-Bay seasoning.". A traumatized Lee asked a bailiff to escort her to her hotel bedroom. Hurley said heleft the church, went to see Capano in prisonand quit the defense team. Capano's attorneys Eugene J. Maurer Jr., Joseph S.Oteri, and Joseph A.Hurley; prosecutors Colm F. Connollyand Ferris W. Wharton;Judge William Swain Lee;key juror Erin Reilly Lee; former News Journal reporter Valerie Helmbreck; and Wilmington restaurateur Anthony Stella all shared withThe News Journal exclusive, never-heard-before details about the case. Killer's ex-wife sues his brothers | Maryland Daily Record Capano, 61, apparently died of natural causes. The eatery, which is still there, was considered one of the city's great wine destinations and featured classic Italian cuisine. Mike Castle. When she returned, she was stunned when the judge said shed been selected. In court testimony, Capano said he laid Fahey's body into the cooler on her side. Judge Lee recalled after the women were included on the jury, he was approached by Oteri who said, "'Can I go off the record, Judge?' From Fahey's disappearance on June 27, 1996, to Capano's conviction on Jan. 17, 1999, the public devoured every morsel of information uncovered. I thought it was very weird, Connolly said. Wilmington-area developer Joseph M. Capano, whose family was embroiled in the notorious killing of a governor's secretary by his brother Thomas, has died. Connolly, leading a team of investigators, began methodically chipping away at the investigation by conducting interviews, searches, and combing through phone and financial records. Thomas Joseph Capano (October 11, 1949 September 19, 2011)[1][2] was a disbarred American lawyer and former Delaware deputy attorney general who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Anne Marie Fahey, his former lover. Thomas committed one of the most notorious murders, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. She received a jury duty summonsbut was certain there were too many similarities between her and Fahey to be picked for jury duty. See Fahey-Hosey v. Capano, 1999 WL 743985, *3 (Del.Super.1999) . [10], Several books were written about the case, including And Never Let Her Go: Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer by Ann Rule, The Summer Wind: Thomas Capano and the Murder of Anne Marie Fahey by George Anastasia, and Fatal Embrace: The Inside Story of the Thomas Capano/Anne Marie Fahey Murder Case by Cris Barrish and Peter Meyer. We're all right.". Capanos' fight over real estate empire advances - The News Journal The lawsuit charged that after their mother died in February 2013, Louis "fraudulently ousted" him from Capano Investments to gain exclusive control over the company and "all the Capano entities. But Connolly kept pushing, wanting to know and the jurors if the body easily fit in or if bones had to be broken to make it fit. Together we can reach 100% of WHYYs fiscal year goal. Defense attorney Eugene Maurer, Jr. shares his thoughts on defending Tom Capano. 1923 - 1980 Louis Joseph Capano 1923 1980 Delaware. Also featured in a 2018 episode of Vanity Fair Confidential titled "The Secret of the Summer Wind.". Steven Oliveira and Bernadette Oliveira, of New. He said he would confer with Capano's family and estate before deciding how to proceed with the lawsuit. Use census records and voter lists to . Louis' lawyer could not be reached for comment. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Marilee was an avid horse lover, horse. "Honestly, a lot of people would be surprised to know that when we first went in to deliberate, first thing we did was take a poll to see where everybody stood and it was half and half," said Lee, who counted herself among the not-guilty votes. He had done a lot of bad things that nobody ever called him into account for and he thought he could control things, Wharton said. "Wilmington is a small town, a gossipy place," he said on the witness stand on Dec. 17, 1998. Louis Capano Family Foundation Donates $100,000 to Best Buddies Delaware Former high-profile attorney Tom Capano, who was convicted of murdering the Delaware governor's secretary, was found dead in . It definitely was surprising. "I knewCapano, notwell, just basically to say 'hello,'" said Wharton, now aSuperior Court judge. Tom Carper. Capano Management is a privately held, fully integrated real estate company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware whose strategic acquisition, financing, development, home building, leasing and. Capanodiedof a heart attack on Sept. 19, 2011, at age 61 at the Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna, where he was serving the life sentence. Louis repeatedly lied to his younger brother in an effort to gain control of Gerry's interest in a family company, according to the complaint. He pulled their car out of the ditch. Here is Marilee A. Capano's obituary. He takes no shit from anybody and he's a pleasure to work in front of. "It's a tragedy for his family. On the 20th anniversary of Capano's arrest, News Journal reportersPatricia Talorico and Esteban Parra combed through records andevidence still in a Wilmington courthouse vault,and interviewed participants involved in the case. "This is important," Lee remembers telling herself. Excuse me, what did you say?. Despite what many believed, Hurley saidCapanonever confessed to him that hemurderedFahey. For 30 years, the Capano family has had a $10 million problem in an exclusive community along the Atlantic Ocean north of Bethany Beach. Thomas J. Capano, a wealthy lawyer and power broker in Delaware politics, was found guilty today of murdering one of his many mistresses, the scheduling secretary of Gov. Ithad to do with the fact thatKermit Justice hadbeen indicted [on several charges in connection with an FBI sting operation]. Maurer said the excitementslowly ebbedas the case wore on. Capano had apparently stuffed the 5-foot-10-inch body of his younger, secret girlfriend, Anne Marie Fahey, into the ice chest after she was shot to death at his home with a gun bought by Deborah A. MacIntyre, one of his other longtime mistresses. Prosecutor Ferris Whartonandfamily members had some Only in Delawareencounters with theCapanos before and after the trial. As jurors attempted to shut the cooler's lid, Lee recalls being surrounded by a darkness she had never known. He always thought that was not going to happen, Wharton said. I go, 'Yeah, OK.'". He went on and on.". Capano was one of four sons of the late developer Louis Capano. He is survived by his wife, Joanne, and four grown children, Ramunno said. It was not to be. September 19, 2011 Thomas Capano, a once-prominent Delaware attorney who was convicted of killing his mistress after a dramatic trial more than 12 years ago, has been found dead in his prison cell.