Amityville Horror Copy-Cat Killing

 

 

“High Hopes” were dashed this month for a Brazilian Family as their son killed them in their sleep. Marcelo Pesseghini [age 13] allegedly shot and killed his mother, father, grandmother, and great aunt in the middle of the night then casually went to school the next morning, returned home, and shot himself dead in the head.

 

The killings are believed to be a chilling re-enactment of the Amityville family massacre whereby Ronald DeFeo Jr., shot and killed his parents, two brothers, and two sisters in their beds at their home in Amityville, Long Island, New York back in 1974. One of Marcelo’s friends said that “He [Marcelo] planned to kill his parents during the night so that no-one would notice then escape in the parents’ car and live in an abandoned place.” The friend also claimed that Marcelo planned to be a “hit man” when he grew up.

Marcelo allegedly shot all four of his victims in the head with a .40 caliber pistol at the family home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Police later recovered a .32 caliber revolver inside a backpack that Marcelo had taken to school. CCTV footage shows Marcelo casually walking to and from his school in the northern part of the capital after the murders.

In a recent press conference Itagiba Franco, from the Sao Paulo police homicide department, reported: “Everything seems to indicate that Marcelo killed his parents and relatives.” Sao Paulo police commander, Benedito Roberto Meira, said there was no sign of a break-in at the house and ruled out “an act of revenge by a criminal group” against the teenager’s family.

Still, there are some that believe that Marcelo is innocent of the crime. Since the killings several Facebook pages have sprung up proclaiming his innocence. One Facebook page actually has more than 26,000 "likes" currently. Others say that the killings may have come from Brazilian police officers, who were allegedly being investigated for some shady actions. It was reported that Marcelo’s mother had previously provided useful information in an inquiry into police officers suspected in a series of ATM robberies. That and the fact that gangs continue to target police officers in the area continue to fuel suspicions. More than 70 Sao Paulo police officers were killed by gang members last year. Both parents were police officers.  

Marcelo had posted a picture of the infamous Amityville “Ghost Boy” picture on his Facebook page last December. The Amityville Ghost Boy picture emerged two years after the Lutz family fled the house, claiming that it was haunted (which “The Amityville Horror” book and movie were based on). The picture is said to show the ghost of the youngest victim of the DeFeo massacre.

Family members killed:

• Luis Pesseghini (father) - 40-year-old police sergeant [found dead in bed]
• Andreia Pesseghini (mother) – 30-year-old military police officer for 16 years [found on her knees dead in the bedroom]
• Benedita de Oliveira Bovo (grandmother), 65-years-old [found dead in bed]
• Bernadete Oliveira da Silva (great aunt), 55-years-old [found dead in bed]
  

Amanda Knox’s Final Conviction Appeal Just Around Corner

Not really breaking news or much of a shock, but just moments ago Amanda Knox’s lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, told the Florence daily La Nazione that she will not be attending her conviction appeals hearings in Italy. The appeals of Amanda Knox and Raffele Sollecito against their convictions will begin on September 30, 2013, and will take place in Florence.
 

Knox will be up against a whole new Italian authoritative regime when her appeals begin. In September Florence’s current chief prosecutor, Giuseppe Quattrocchi, will retire and Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Dr. Armando Spataro, is expected to take his place. Dr. Spataro is known to be one of the toughest prosecutors in Italy. Italy also has a new attorney general for Tuscany, Dr Tindari Baglione, who is expected to select the prosecutors for the appeal soon. 

Italian law permits Knox not to attend the appeal, where she will instead be represented by her lawyers. According to Mr. Ghirga, Knox “is not trying to run away from anything; she just doesn’t understand why a retrial is necessary.” So, by that logic: because Knox doesn’t understand why a retrial is necessary (even though it’s common practice in Italy for such a thing) she believes she should not attend because they have not proven to her why this is even necessary. Amanda Knox’s logic is never short on entertainment value. 

This past Sunday CNN featured the Amanda Knox story on their “Crimes of the Century” series; and once again CNN outdid itself by actually topping its previous record of reporting half-truths and outright errors associated with this story. They featured a host of pro-Knox-hacks, painted Knox as a poor girl who continues to be persecuted by evil autocrats tied to a medieval court system, and of course they made several references to the Knox-o-holics' "Darth Vader," Guiliano Mignini.

Trial Date Set for Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius was indicted today for the Valentine’s Day murder of his then girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Among other things, the indictment reads, “The accused did unlawfully and intentionally kill a person.” The double-amputee Olympian, a.k.a. the Blade Runner, was charged with planning and premeditating Reeva’s murder, which comes with a mandatory sentence of life behind bars.

Pistorius’ trial was set announced today to begin on March 3, 2014. The entire trial, however, could take place in several different phases, likely lasting a year or more because of potential motions and postponements along the way. A list of more than 100 state-witnesses was listed in the indictment. Pistorious’ legal team is yet to release their witness list.

Pistorius also was indicted for allegedly violating South Africa’s firearms-control act. In South Africa, people can possess ammunition only if they are licensed to own a gun, and their ammunition must be specific to that weapon. Pistorius claimed that he stored the ammunition for a gun that his father owns.

Pistorius continues to maintain his innocence; he claims he mistook Reeva for a burglar.

Adding to the misery for the Steenkamp family, Reeva would have celebrated her 30^th birthday today.