Post by hi224 on Feb 8, 2019 6:13:56 GMT
Marilu Geri
The morning of Valentine’s Day 1986, around 10am, Marilu Geri, 33, was found shot four times in her own home. She was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. Her mother, Maria Serrato, was the one to find her lifeless body but many believe that her discovery of the body was a preplanned manipulation by Marilu’s husband, as many killers try to manipulate the timeline by arranging for others to find the body, so that they themselves are not the primary suspect.
At 8:15 that morning Marilu’s mother received a call from stephen Geri, Marilu’s husband, asking if she could come over and help her daughter set up the luncheon they had been planning. Maria, upon handing up with Stephen, called her daughter to go over details but strangely Marilu didn’t pick up. This concerned Maria as she would have though that if Marilu was already planning for the party she would be answering her phone. When Maria arrived at the house about an hour and 45 minutes later, only to find what she describes as a “nightmare”. Having found the houses door ajar, Maria walked into the house. Maria recalls the moment she saw Marilu in the back of the house: “She looked like she had fainted or something, and I started to kiss her in her face, and touching her, and she looked like she was dead. And it got me completely, I was just like, a wild person.”
At 10:30 paramedics arrived and tried injecting Marilu with medication intended to revive her heart but to no avail- incidentally this life saving measure would later make it impossible for investigators to determine the exact time of death.
The autopsy would reveal that Marilu was shot with not one but two different guns- a .38 and a .22, which some would describe as overkill and certainly painted a specific picture of the crime- though the details remained unclear. Besides the fact that the houses door was left ajar, There were no signs of a break-in and the jewelry box that from which Maria believed Marilu was picking out the days jewelry, seemed untouched. But Stephen contests this statement and claims that 25-40 thousand dollars of jewelry and furs was stolen, but the family of Marilu claims this is untrue and that the valuables were still present in the home.
The couple, who had been married for only three years was financially well off- their house was large and in an affluent area of Houston Texas, and they took many vacations internationally. But although things looked picturesque from outward appearances, Marilu’s mother recalls a tumultuous marriage rife in strife and fighting. She recalls that for the last two and a half years Marilu had called her many days crying about the frequent fights between her and Stephen. She says they fought over money as, while they were moderately well-off, Stephen often attempted to live beyond his means. Again Stephen disagrees with this assertion claiming that his marriage was “exciting” and “fulfilling”.
Attention immediately focused on the husband, Stephen Geri, who was the owner of multiple handguns, although none were found in the house. When police did locate his guns, they were tested but ballistics could not match any of the bullets to any of his registered guns.
Normally Stephen worked from his home office during the morning, but oddly enough the day of Marilu’s death he suspiciously changed his routine. His story is as follows: he says he awake at 5am and did some office work from home. He says he left the house, with the security system still on, between 6:25 and 6:30 am., which was unusual decision as those close to him claim he never left the house before nine or 10.
Stephen then went to 7-11, just two blocks from his home, and got a cup of coffee. While he says he left at around 630, employees are certain he didn’t get to 7-11 until precisely 657- which was strange due to the proximity of the convenience store to his home; It should’ve only taken him a couple minutes to drive there. Not almost half an hour
After getting his coffee, he went to the post office and after that he stoped at a donut shop. From there he visited the store Precision Glass and spoke with the workers there before borrowing their phone in their reception office to call and check in with Marilu around 7:30. Stephen claims that Marilu answered the phone and said she was too busy to talk, so he quickly ended the call. Detectives and a private investigator have also spoken to witnesses that provide an alibi for Stephen from 730-10, when Marilu was found.
The most outrageous fact from detectives’ investigation was that Steven returned it to all of these locations the day after his wife’s death in order to remind the employees of his presence the previous day and ask for copies of the receipts. Certainly not normal behavior for a grieving spouse.
Adding to the cloud of suspicion surrounding the husband of the deceased, Stephen had taken out a 435,000 dollar life insurance policy on Marilu two years prior, which he attempted to collect ten months after the murder. Marilu’s family took him to court, arguing that he was the prime suspect in the killing and should not be able to profit from his crimes. Stephen has over $125,000 of cash judgements against him and the family believes he killed Marilu for the money.
The case over the insurance claim was settled out of court with the results not being made public.
While the family highly suspect Stephen , no concrete evidence has linked him to the crime and he remains a free man.
Marilu’s headstone uses her maiden name, Serrato, and there is a 20,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest.
Anyone with information on this crime may contact the Houston Police Dept. at (713) 884-3131
Link to our video on this subject and other Valentine’s Day Murders
link to article on case
The morning of Valentine’s Day 1986, around 10am, Marilu Geri, 33, was found shot four times in her own home. She was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. Her mother, Maria Serrato, was the one to find her lifeless body but many believe that her discovery of the body was a preplanned manipulation by Marilu’s husband, as many killers try to manipulate the timeline by arranging for others to find the body, so that they themselves are not the primary suspect.
At 8:15 that morning Marilu’s mother received a call from stephen Geri, Marilu’s husband, asking if she could come over and help her daughter set up the luncheon they had been planning. Maria, upon handing up with Stephen, called her daughter to go over details but strangely Marilu didn’t pick up. This concerned Maria as she would have though that if Marilu was already planning for the party she would be answering her phone. When Maria arrived at the house about an hour and 45 minutes later, only to find what she describes as a “nightmare”. Having found the houses door ajar, Maria walked into the house. Maria recalls the moment she saw Marilu in the back of the house: “She looked like she had fainted or something, and I started to kiss her in her face, and touching her, and she looked like she was dead. And it got me completely, I was just like, a wild person.”
At 10:30 paramedics arrived and tried injecting Marilu with medication intended to revive her heart but to no avail- incidentally this life saving measure would later make it impossible for investigators to determine the exact time of death.
The autopsy would reveal that Marilu was shot with not one but two different guns- a .38 and a .22, which some would describe as overkill and certainly painted a specific picture of the crime- though the details remained unclear. Besides the fact that the houses door was left ajar, There were no signs of a break-in and the jewelry box that from which Maria believed Marilu was picking out the days jewelry, seemed untouched. But Stephen contests this statement and claims that 25-40 thousand dollars of jewelry and furs was stolen, but the family of Marilu claims this is untrue and that the valuables were still present in the home.
The couple, who had been married for only three years was financially well off- their house was large and in an affluent area of Houston Texas, and they took many vacations internationally. But although things looked picturesque from outward appearances, Marilu’s mother recalls a tumultuous marriage rife in strife and fighting. She recalls that for the last two and a half years Marilu had called her many days crying about the frequent fights between her and Stephen. She says they fought over money as, while they were moderately well-off, Stephen often attempted to live beyond his means. Again Stephen disagrees with this assertion claiming that his marriage was “exciting” and “fulfilling”.
Attention immediately focused on the husband, Stephen Geri, who was the owner of multiple handguns, although none were found in the house. When police did locate his guns, they were tested but ballistics could not match any of the bullets to any of his registered guns.
Normally Stephen worked from his home office during the morning, but oddly enough the day of Marilu’s death he suspiciously changed his routine. His story is as follows: he says he awake at 5am and did some office work from home. He says he left the house, with the security system still on, between 6:25 and 6:30 am., which was unusual decision as those close to him claim he never left the house before nine or 10.
Stephen then went to 7-11, just two blocks from his home, and got a cup of coffee. While he says he left at around 630, employees are certain he didn’t get to 7-11 until precisely 657- which was strange due to the proximity of the convenience store to his home; It should’ve only taken him a couple minutes to drive there. Not almost half an hour
After getting his coffee, he went to the post office and after that he stoped at a donut shop. From there he visited the store Precision Glass and spoke with the workers there before borrowing their phone in their reception office to call and check in with Marilu around 7:30. Stephen claims that Marilu answered the phone and said she was too busy to talk, so he quickly ended the call. Detectives and a private investigator have also spoken to witnesses that provide an alibi for Stephen from 730-10, when Marilu was found.
The most outrageous fact from detectives’ investigation was that Steven returned it to all of these locations the day after his wife’s death in order to remind the employees of his presence the previous day and ask for copies of the receipts. Certainly not normal behavior for a grieving spouse.
Adding to the cloud of suspicion surrounding the husband of the deceased, Stephen had taken out a 435,000 dollar life insurance policy on Marilu two years prior, which he attempted to collect ten months after the murder. Marilu’s family took him to court, arguing that he was the prime suspect in the killing and should not be able to profit from his crimes. Stephen has over $125,000 of cash judgements against him and the family believes he killed Marilu for the money.
The case over the insurance claim was settled out of court with the results not being made public.
While the family highly suspect Stephen , no concrete evidence has linked him to the crime and he remains a free man.
Marilu’s headstone uses her maiden name, Serrato, and there is a 20,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest.
Anyone with information on this crime may contact the Houston Police Dept. at (713) 884-3131
Link to our video on this subject and other Valentine’s Day Murders
link to article on case