Frank Masini

Last updated
Frank Masini
Frank Masini.png
Born (1944-04-14) April 14, 1944 (age 80)
Conviction(s) Murder (4 counts)
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment (minimum of 60 years)
Details
Victims4
Span of crimes
1991–1992
CountryUnited States
State(s) New Jersey
Date apprehended
December 22, 1992
Imprisoned at New Jersey State Prison

Frank Masini (born April 14, 1944) is an Italian-American convicted serial killer and necrophile who killed three elderly women and one man in Ocean and Essex County, New Jersey, from 1991 to 1992. [1] He pleaded guilty in April 1993 and is serving life in prison at New Jersey State Prison. [2]

Contents

Early life

Masini was born on April 14, 1944, in Naples, Italy. [3] He moved to the United States at age 17 and settled in Livingston, New Jersey. Masini wound up in the grasps of law enforcement as early as 1966, when he was convicted of burglary. [1] After his release, he found work in low-skilled labor. He married a woman named Anna with whom he fathered two children. He owned two homes and found work as a handyman. [3]

Murders

On November 24, 1991, Masini visited his aunt, 85-year-old Anna Masini at her home to use the telephone, but eventually started up a conversation with her, in which the two chatted over soft drinks. After finishing, he attacked Anna with a knife, stabbing her in the neck repeatedly until her death. [4] Afterwards he sexually assaulted the body and fled the home. Anna's body was eventually found on November 27, but Masini would not become a suspect in that murder, and it sat unsolved for the next year while Masini continued his travels. On December 11, 1991, Masini was prowling through East Orange, when he entered the home of 79-year-old Angelina Ialeggio. Ialeggio was known to Masini, who was a relative via marriage. While at the home, Masini grabbed a knife, and like the first victim, he began a violent attack on Angelina, in which he sexually assaulted her while stabbing her. [5] After the killing, Masini pocketed money and left the home. [6]

On November 24, 1992, exactly a year after killing his aunt, Masini went to the home of 81-year-old Michael Krieger and his wife 78-year-old Betty, a retired couple living in West Orange. The couple was expected to attend a Thanksgiving party in New York the next day when they agreed to let Masini do some house work. Masini had done carpentry work at their house in the past, since the 1980s. [1] Masini first attacked Michael with a letter opener after discussing floor work. When Betty came to see what was going on, Masini attempted to hide, but when she saw what he had done to Michael, Masini stabbed her in the back. [7] The next day, the Krieger's son reported to the police to pay a visit to their home, and they discovered the bodies. In the initial investigation, they found items from the home had been stolen. [8] Since no evidence of forced entry could be found, police focused their investigation on people possibly close to the Kriegers. Masini, who was known to have done carpentry work for the couple was questioned, but insisted he had nothing to do with it. However, after police located a bloody footprint the killer left behind at the home, they matched it to a pair of specialized hiking boots that Masini owned, and he was arrested. [5]

Criminal proceedings

While Masini was in jail, police and other authorities searched his home in Orange, and found his wife to be wearing a ring which Angelina Ialeggio had owned. Thus, on December 23, Masini was charged with Ialeggio's murder, and held on $1,000,000 bail. [9] Detectives began a careful examination of Masini's movements, and they thus connected him to the unsolved murder of his aunt Anna in November 1991. Superior Court Judge Joseph Falcon ruled that Masini had to give blood, hair and saliva samples to investigators. [6]

He pleaded not guilty to all charges, despite the overwhelming evidence; each victim Masini was acquainted with, all were killed on a Wednesday, all were elderly, the female victims had been sexually assaulted, and all were stabbed in the neck. [10] Subsequently, Masini went under two psychiatric tests, all of which confirmed he was competent to stand trial.

After some time, Masini eventually turned over his plea, and admitted what he had done; the possibility of the death penalty was thrown away, and other charges, such as robbery and sexual assault, were dropped. [11] It also meant that Masini would skip a trial. During his sentencing in April 1993, Masini exchanged to Judge Joseph Falcon "I need help. Please help me. I am very sorry. God forgive me". [3] Masini was initially sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders, with the possibility of parole after serving 60 years. [4] He will not become eligible for parole until December 20, 2052. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyle and Erik Menéndez</span> American brothers convicted of murdering their parents

Joseph Lyle Menéndez and Erik Galen Menéndez are American brothers who were convicted in 1996 of the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menéndez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kuklinski</span> American criminal (1935–2006)

Richard Leonard Kuklinski, also known as "The Iceman", was an American criminal and a convicted murderer. He was engaged in criminal activities for most of his adult life; he ran a burglary ring and distributed pirated pornography. Kuklinski committed at least five murders between 1980 and 1984. Prosecutors described him as killing for profit. Kuklinski was nicknamed "the Iceman" by authorities after they discovered that he had frozen the body of one of his victims in an attempt to disguise the time of death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Cullen</span> American serial killer (born 1960)

Charles Edmund Cullen is an American serial killer. Cullen, a nurse, murdered dozens—possibly hundreds—of patients during a 16-year career spanning several New Jersey and Pennsylvania medical centers until being arrested in 2003. He confessed to committing as many as 40 murders at least 29 of which have been confirmed; though interviews with police, psychiatrists and journalists suggest he committed many more. Researchers who are intimately involved in the case believe Cullen may have murdered as many as 400 people. However, most murders cannot be confirmed due to lack of records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Cottingham</span> American serial killer (born 1946)

Richard Francis Cottingham is an American serial killer who was convicted in New York of six murders committed between 1972 and 1980 and convicted in New Jersey of twelve murders committed between 1967 and 1978. He was nicknamed by media as the Torso Killer and the Times Square Ripper, since some of the murders he was convicted of included mutilation.

Jason Gage was a 29-year-old gay man who was murdered in his apartment in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The murder was compared by the national press to the slaying of Matthew Shepard and prompted a push for citywide laws protecting LGBT people.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office (ECPO) is the largest and busiest county prosecutor's office in the State of New Jersey. It consists of approximately 140 assistant prosecutors (attorneys at law), 160 detectives licensed to carry arms, and 125 support staff. It is headquartered at the Essex County Government Complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Floyd Thomas Jr.</span> Convicted American serial killer

John Floyd Thomas Jr. is an American serial killer, serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murders of seven white women in the Los Angeles area during the 1970s and 1980s. Police suspect Thomas committed 10 to 15 more murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Ingenito</span>

Ernest Martin "Ernie" Ingenito was an American spree killer who shot nine people, his wife Theresa Mazzoli and her family, killing five and injuring four, on November 17, 1950, in Franklin Township and Minotola, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Alcala</span> American serial killer (1943–2021)

Rodney James Alcala was an American serial killer and sex offender who was sentenced to death in California for five murders committed between 1977 and 1979. He also pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 25 years to life for two further murders committed in New York and was also indicted with a murder in Wyoming, although charges were dropped due to a technicality. While he has been conclusively linked to eight murders, Alcala's true number of victims remains unknown and could be much higher – the actual number could be as high as 130.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of violence against LGBT people in the United States</span>

The history of violence against LGBT people in the United States is made up of assaults on gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals (LGBT), legal responses to such violence, and hate crime statistics in the United States of America. The people who are the targets of such violence are believed to violate heteronormative rules and they are also believed to contravene perceived protocols of gender and sexual roles. People who are perceived to be LGBT may also be targeted for violence. Violence can also occur between couples who are of the same sex, with statistics showing that violence among female same-sex couples is more common than it is among couples of the opposite sex, but male same-sex violence is less common.

Kathleen Dorsett is a former Neptune, New Jersey schoolteacher who was convicted of the August 2010 murder of her ex-husband, Stephen Moore, in May 2013. Her father, Thomas Dorsett, also pled guilty to the murder, and Dorsett's mother, Lesley Dorsett, a former member of the Ocean Township Board of Education, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in 2013. The case made headlines across New Jersey and throughout the United States.

Alexander Wayne Watson Jr. is an American serial killer. Initially convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1994 murder of a woman in Forestville, Maryland, Watson's DNA was later matched to three additional killings in Anne Arundel County committed years before. For these crimes, he pleaded guilty and received four additional life imprisonment terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Ee Lee</span> Murder of a Hmong-American woman in Wisconsin, United States

Ee Lee was an American woman who was raped and murdered by two black teenagers in a racially-motivated daylight attack in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two perpetrators, Kamare Lewis and Kevin Spencer, pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide and second-degree sexual assault in 2023. Later that year, Lewis was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Spencer was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of William and Patricia Wycherley</span> 1998 double murder case

At some point over the Early May bank holiday weekend in 1998, William and Patricia Wycherley were shot and killed in their home in a suburb of Mansfield, England, by their daughter Susan and her husband, Christopher Edwards. The Edwards then buried the bodies in the garden behind the house and went on to use the Wycherleys' identities to commit various acts of fraud intended to fund their hobby of collecting expensive Hollywood memorabilia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Dennis (serial killer)</span> American serial killer

Jerome Dennis is an American serial killer and kidnapper who abducted and sexually assaulted seven women and young girls in Essex County, New Jersey, from late 1991 to early 1992, killing five. At the time of the murders, he was on parole for a prior rape conviction. After his arrest, Dennis pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to life imprisonment in 1993.

Edwin Bernard Kaprat III, known as The Granny Killer, was an American serial killer, rapist, and arsonist who committed six murders in Tampa and Hernando County, Florida from 1991 to 1993, with a majority of his victims being elderly women. Convicted for two of the killings and sentenced to death, he and another inmate were stabbed to death during a dispute in prison.

Stewart Rudolph Weldon is an American serial killer who kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered three women in Springfield, Massachusetts, from December 2017 to March 2018. The bodies of the victims were uncovered on Weldon's property after he was arrested for attempting to kill a fourth victim in May 2018. He pleaded guilty to the murders on September 28, 2021, and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.

Raymont Hopewell is an American serial killer and serial rapist who assaulted ten elderly people in Baltimore, Maryland, between 1999 and 2005, killing five of them. In a deal with prosecutors, Hopewell pleaded guilty to five counts of murder in order to avoid a death sentence and received four life sentences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Washington</span> American serial killer (1948–2004)

Steven Washington Jr. was an American serial killer who was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of three elderly women in St. Petersburg, Florida. Dubbed the Window-Screen Rapist by the press, Washington's crimes were committed between August and December 1963 when he was only 15 years old, which makes him one of the youngest serial killers in history. He died while in prison 2004.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "N.J. slay suspect eyed in deaths of four seniors". Daily news. 25 December 1992. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Attention". www20.state.nj.us. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Livingston man gets three life terms for 3 murders; 4th sentence late this month". Associated Press. 1 May 1993. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Handyman gets life for murdering his aunt". The Home News. 29 May 1993. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Suspect in Lavallette murder charged with West Orange killings". Ocean County News. 13 January 1993. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Samples ordered in probe of killings". Asbury Park Press . 7 January 1993. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  7. "Handyman gets life in prison for slayings of elderly". The Home News. 1 May 1993. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  8. "Elderly Couple Die in Attack With Ice Pick". The New York Times . 28 November 1992. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  9. "Essex handyman held as cops probe deaths". Herald News . 25 December 1992. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. "Essex County man is held in death of elderly couple". The Philadelphia Inquirer . 13 January 1993. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  11. "Handyman pleads guilty to murder". The Daily Journal . 16 April 1993. Retrieved 14 December 2021.