Post by hi224 on Aug 6, 2020 21:24:05 GMT
Marilu Serrato Geri was found dead in her home she shared with her husband on Valentines day 1986. Her husbands actions before and after her body was found have lead many to believe he was responsible.
The Day of the Murder
Early on the morning of February 14th 1986, Marilu's husband Stephen claims that he woke up around 5am and went upstairs to his office to work. He reportedly had a very busy day ahead of him and was getting a head start on it. He stated that when he finished Marilu was still in bed and he told her he would call her at 7.
Having left the house around 6:25am, Stephen went to the nearby 7-11 to get Coffee and from there he drove to the post office to collect the couples mail. He then stocked at a Dunkin Donuts shop to buy a box of donuts before travelling to a company he was doing business with called 'Precision Glass'.
While there Stephen claims he was about to leave when he remembered he had forgotten to call Marilu. He placed a call from the reception desk to his home at 7:30am and claimed she was now awake and very busy so he told her he would talk to her later.
At 8:15am, Stephen called Marilu's mother Maria Serrato and asked her to give his wife a hand with a lunchtime party they were hosting that day. Maria tried to call her daughter after she finished talking to Stephen but got no answer.
Maria drove over to her daughters home, knocking the back door before returning to the front of the house and finding the front door ajar, she then found Marilu lying on the bathroom floor of the couples ensuite bathroom. She appeared to Maria to have fallen or fainted and she tried without success to wake her before calling 911.
The Initial investigation
Paramedics arrived at the home around 10:30am, they tried to revive Marilu unsuccessfully before resorting to injecting adrenaline into her heart. Failing to get any response they pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police soon arrived and discovered that Marilu had been shot four times, twice with a .38 and twice with a .22 this suggested two shooters may have been involved.
The weapons used to shoot her weren't found on the property and the use of adrenaline to try and revive Marilu meant that the coroner was unable to provide an accurate time of death for her.
The police confirmed quickly that Marilu hadnt been sexually assaulted and no break in had occurred as the property was alarmed and no evidence of a forced entry could be found. Robbery wasn't believed to be the motive though Marilu's Jewellery box was found open in her room.
Stephen owned many firearms but all were taken as evidence and tested at the ballistics lab without any matches being found. Stephen became the only suspect however.
The Family Dispute
Marilu's mother believed the crime was a calculated murder, she didnt believe anything had been taken and the fact a Jewellery box was open may have been because Marilu was picking some to wear at the time of the shooting.
Stephen on the other hand alleged that $40,000 of jewellery had been taken as well as some fur coats.
Maria would go on to tell the police that Stephen and Marilu had a tumultuous marriage and in the 3 years they were married they had spent the last two years fighting over money.
Stephen denied this and said that he and Marilu had worked together before and after the marriage, he was an insurance agent and she worked for him. They had several holidays to Europe and Hawaii during their 3 year marriage and according to Stephen, Marilu was the perfect woman for him.
Stephen's Alibi
During the course of the investigation both the Police and Marilu's parents have called into question Stephens elaborate alibi for the morning of his wife's death.
Stephen normally worked out of his office at home, sometimes well into the day but on the day of his wife's death he had left the house early, a private investigator hired by the family later confirmed he didnt leave the home until 10-10:30am on most days but on the day of the murder he left by 6:30am.
Despite Stephen's claim he arrived at the 7-11 immediately after leaving his home, a journey of roughly 3 minutes, the interviews with the workers proved he arrived there closer to 7am suggesting he had done something else in the intervening half hour.
In further analysing the alibi provided by Stephen both the police and private investigators found he had returned to everywhere he had stopped at the day after his wife's death to remind them all they had seen him the day before.
Life Insurance
Stephen had taken out life insurance policies on both himself and his wife roughly two years before her death. They each had a total value of $400,000. The police stated they believe Stephen and Marilu's income wasn't capable of supporting their lifestyle and believed the life insurance money gave Stephen a good motive.
10 months after his wife's death Stephen tried to collect on the life insurance, her parents challenged this in court however stating that he was responsible for her death so couldn't collect the money. Oddly for civil cases such as this, Marilu's parents settled out of court for an unspecified amount of money just before the case was to go to court.
Both sides dispute to this day who first suggested the settlement and the court documents were sealed. Stephen continues to maintain that Marilu's parents only took him to court in the first place in order to get a share of the life insurance money. He went on to say in a segment of unsolved mysteries that 'if it had been my daughter, and I thought the person was involved then no way would I ever take a settlement.'.
Later Developments
Marilu's original headstone was vandalised several times and eventually was stolen from her grave. Her family placed a new headstone that had her Maiden name of Serrato instead of her Married name of Geri.
Police never identified any items as having been stolen from the residence despite what Stephen claimed was missing.
The two firearms used in the shooting were never found and no evidence recovered in the case was ever linked to any other crimes.
A county sheriff involved in the investigation of the case stated to reporters that police have long investigated the case with Stephen as a person of interest rather then a suspect. This same statement also suggested the authorities believe it may have been some kind of murder for hire.
Stephen was indicted in 1996 on federal charges of felony theft of over $200,000. He also would later take a personal injury case against Starbucks in 2019 but its unclear what this was in relation to.
Conclusion
Stephen Geri maintains his innocence in the case and has never been charged in connection with his wife's death. Marilu's family continue to believe he is responsible for her death. In 2018 a $20,000 reward was offered for information leading to the resolution of the case.
What do you believe likely happened in this case?
Unsolved mysteries Link
The Day of the Murder
Early on the morning of February 14th 1986, Marilu's husband Stephen claims that he woke up around 5am and went upstairs to his office to work. He reportedly had a very busy day ahead of him and was getting a head start on it. He stated that when he finished Marilu was still in bed and he told her he would call her at 7.
Having left the house around 6:25am, Stephen went to the nearby 7-11 to get Coffee and from there he drove to the post office to collect the couples mail. He then stocked at a Dunkin Donuts shop to buy a box of donuts before travelling to a company he was doing business with called 'Precision Glass'.
While there Stephen claims he was about to leave when he remembered he had forgotten to call Marilu. He placed a call from the reception desk to his home at 7:30am and claimed she was now awake and very busy so he told her he would talk to her later.
At 8:15am, Stephen called Marilu's mother Maria Serrato and asked her to give his wife a hand with a lunchtime party they were hosting that day. Maria tried to call her daughter after she finished talking to Stephen but got no answer.
Maria drove over to her daughters home, knocking the back door before returning to the front of the house and finding the front door ajar, she then found Marilu lying on the bathroom floor of the couples ensuite bathroom. She appeared to Maria to have fallen or fainted and she tried without success to wake her before calling 911.
The Initial investigation
Paramedics arrived at the home around 10:30am, they tried to revive Marilu unsuccessfully before resorting to injecting adrenaline into her heart. Failing to get any response they pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police soon arrived and discovered that Marilu had been shot four times, twice with a .38 and twice with a .22 this suggested two shooters may have been involved.
The weapons used to shoot her weren't found on the property and the use of adrenaline to try and revive Marilu meant that the coroner was unable to provide an accurate time of death for her.
The police confirmed quickly that Marilu hadnt been sexually assaulted and no break in had occurred as the property was alarmed and no evidence of a forced entry could be found. Robbery wasn't believed to be the motive though Marilu's Jewellery box was found open in her room.
Stephen owned many firearms but all were taken as evidence and tested at the ballistics lab without any matches being found. Stephen became the only suspect however.
The Family Dispute
Marilu's mother believed the crime was a calculated murder, she didnt believe anything had been taken and the fact a Jewellery box was open may have been because Marilu was picking some to wear at the time of the shooting.
Stephen on the other hand alleged that $40,000 of jewellery had been taken as well as some fur coats.
Maria would go on to tell the police that Stephen and Marilu had a tumultuous marriage and in the 3 years they were married they had spent the last two years fighting over money.
Stephen denied this and said that he and Marilu had worked together before and after the marriage, he was an insurance agent and she worked for him. They had several holidays to Europe and Hawaii during their 3 year marriage and according to Stephen, Marilu was the perfect woman for him.
Stephen's Alibi
During the course of the investigation both the Police and Marilu's parents have called into question Stephens elaborate alibi for the morning of his wife's death.
Stephen normally worked out of his office at home, sometimes well into the day but on the day of his wife's death he had left the house early, a private investigator hired by the family later confirmed he didnt leave the home until 10-10:30am on most days but on the day of the murder he left by 6:30am.
Despite Stephen's claim he arrived at the 7-11 immediately after leaving his home, a journey of roughly 3 minutes, the interviews with the workers proved he arrived there closer to 7am suggesting he had done something else in the intervening half hour.
In further analysing the alibi provided by Stephen both the police and private investigators found he had returned to everywhere he had stopped at the day after his wife's death to remind them all they had seen him the day before.
Life Insurance
Stephen had taken out life insurance policies on both himself and his wife roughly two years before her death. They each had a total value of $400,000. The police stated they believe Stephen and Marilu's income wasn't capable of supporting their lifestyle and believed the life insurance money gave Stephen a good motive.
10 months after his wife's death Stephen tried to collect on the life insurance, her parents challenged this in court however stating that he was responsible for her death so couldn't collect the money. Oddly for civil cases such as this, Marilu's parents settled out of court for an unspecified amount of money just before the case was to go to court.
Both sides dispute to this day who first suggested the settlement and the court documents were sealed. Stephen continues to maintain that Marilu's parents only took him to court in the first place in order to get a share of the life insurance money. He went on to say in a segment of unsolved mysteries that 'if it had been my daughter, and I thought the person was involved then no way would I ever take a settlement.'.
Later Developments
Marilu's original headstone was vandalised several times and eventually was stolen from her grave. Her family placed a new headstone that had her Maiden name of Serrato instead of her Married name of Geri.
Police never identified any items as having been stolen from the residence despite what Stephen claimed was missing.
The two firearms used in the shooting were never found and no evidence recovered in the case was ever linked to any other crimes.
A county sheriff involved in the investigation of the case stated to reporters that police have long investigated the case with Stephen as a person of interest rather then a suspect. This same statement also suggested the authorities believe it may have been some kind of murder for hire.
Stephen was indicted in 1996 on federal charges of felony theft of over $200,000. He also would later take a personal injury case against Starbucks in 2019 but its unclear what this was in relation to.
Conclusion
Stephen Geri maintains his innocence in the case and has never been charged in connection with his wife's death. Marilu's family continue to believe he is responsible for her death. In 2018 a $20,000 reward was offered for information leading to the resolution of the case.
What do you believe likely happened in this case?
Unsolved mysteries Link