Catherine Pileggi

- A millionaire is found dead in his South Florida mansion after an odd 911 call. - So how is that an accident? - I was in an accident. The guy fell down the stairs, and he's dead. - They said, "Holy cow, you know, we got an issue here." - The body was inside of this sleeping bag. There was a fitted sheet. - I opened up the bag a little bit further, pulled some of the stuff apart, and I saw a hand. - A bizarre and complex crime scene raises more questions than answers. - For me, as an investigator, I'm wondering, what are you doing here, you know, with the attorney? - This was a lot more than just an accident. - He would drink a bit too much, and that, I think, caused some rift between the two of them. - But with multiple witnesses and conflicting stories, investigators must determine what's true and what's a cover-up. - She say to me, "He wanna bury in the ocean." - She's, what, 85 pounds, maybe five-something. Somebody had to help her. Two people were there, and no one else knew what the story was. - Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a place most people associate with relaxation. - Fort Lauderdale, it's a vacation spot. It's a hotspot for taking cruises to go to the Bahamas and everywhere else. You have seven miles of ocean, ocean beach that you can go to. - On June 28th, 2011, police are called to the scene of a fatal accident on one of the area's more affluent streets. - What is your emergency? - We need a detective at Pocona Drive, Fort Lauderdale, please. - Okay, what's going on there, sir? - We had an accident. A person fell down the stairs. - Okay, do they need paramedics? - Not anymore. - How's it an accident? The guy fell down the stairs and he's dead. - It wasn't frantic when he called 911. I don't wanna say he acted as if it was another day at the office, but something just doesn't seem right. When the police arrived, they discovered the body of Ronald Vinci. Present at the scene were Catherine Pelleggi, Mr. Vinci's significant other, an attorney named Sam Fields, and a close friend of Ronald Vinci named Spencer Gordon. - The attorney identified himself and said, "I am representing Ms. Pelleggi." What are you doing here, you know, with the attorney, with Spencer? You know, why are you here? - That was kind of suspicious. - Spencer Gordon tells police he's the one who called 911. When he leads the officers to Ron's body, they realize the situation does not match the story they were told. - The story at that point was that he had apparently fallen down the stairs, which was confounding to the police. - The body, we're thinking, is at the bottom of the stairs, but once you go in the entrance, you go to the right, you walk into the bedroom, and there's a big bed. That's where the body was at. - The body was inside of this sleeping bag. There was a fitted sheet, I believe. There was a towel. There were multiple elements to all of the coverings directly around the decedent. - His body looked like a big clump of dirty laundry sitting off to the right side of your bed. Once they saw that, they said, "Holy cow, you know, we got an issue here." - He could get from the bottom of the stairs into the bedroom. - Since it appears the body has already been moved, officers clear the scene to preserve any potential evidence. - They immediately shut it down and called us out there. Catherine Pelleggi was being detained in a patrol car as a person of interest or a possible suspect, and the crime scene was sealed. So no one goes in until at least the M.E. goes in there, and then the scene is processed. - It was such a complex scene, meaning the scene directly around the decedent, and not knowing what would be in there. I thought it would be better just to wrap everything up, not disturb anything, and just put the entire unit in a body bag and have it transported. The assumption is that at this point, because of the context of the scene, that this is a homicide. - I think it's important to understand that there is no way that this is a homicide. Then we decide our plan of attack here. What are we going to do? The bigger thing is to collect as much of the evidence as possible, because we just never know what is going to be important. - While investigators are securing evidence, detectives learn more about who is at the scene. - Before you start looking for the boogeyman who may have entered and fled, you need to find out who is at the scene. - In an immediate area, we could have been involved and find out what they know. - Mr. Pelleggi was taken downtown, and then our witnesses, the same thing. Just to get them away from the scene, and we can talk to them and try to get their version of what happened. What is the story behind all this? ♪♪ - Ronald Vinci was born in Ohio but he lived most of his life in California. A salesman at heart, Ron was drawn to a career in auto sales, and he spent decades becoming one of the most successful dealers in the state. - Ron was a self-made man. I would characterize him as being very street smart. Back in the day, nobody really knew how successful Honda Motors would be, but he made a real success out of it. You couldn't hide how much money the boy had. - He had yachts. He had a motorcycle collection. This was not somebody who was scraping by. ♪♪ - Ron married in his early 20s and had a son. But after many years together, the relationship ended in divorce, and Ron's focus turned back to his work and some rather expensive hobbies. - I met Ron Vinci in a small town called Lake Havasu, Arizona, and we found we had similar interests. We liked boats, we liked airplanes, we liked water, those types of things. Ron was a very fun guy. You wanted to be around him from any standpoint, from a social event to going down to the Bahamas. He had just a zest for life that was unparalleled. - In 1993, at the age of 53, Ron decided it was time to cash out and enjoy the fruits of his labor. - When Mr. Vinci retired and sold his interest in the Honda dealerships that he had, he had a lot of money, which he spent on toys and property and travel. ♪♪ - On one of his luxury trips, Ron got a second chance at love when he met a 37-year-old woman from Georgia named Catherine Palais. - Catherine Palais is from Georgia. She was born and raised in Georgia. seemed to have the kind of relationship most only dream of. The two of them attended functions all the time, gala events, they enjoyed the good life. But two weeks after moving into the new mansion, their high-flying lifestyle has come to a tragic end. After securing the crime scene, detectives bring the three potential witnesses in for questioning. We need to identify almost immediately, okay, who are my key players here that I need to talk to, and then separate from the scene. Investigators start with interviewing Catherine, who requests to have her lawyer present. And that you understand your rights as I have read them to you. And you are willing or not willing to make a statement now in reference to this incident. It's not willing. After getting nowhere with Catherine. In a separate room. Her lawyer provides some startling information. Put it this way, this was a lot more than just an accident. Coming up, a witness reveals a sinister discovery. They basically, he got her to say, okay, he was shot. And an autopsy reveals the details of a brutal murder. Catherine walks from a hammer in his skull. It was overkill. So we know it's personal. Fort Lauderdale police are questioning everyone who was at Ron Vinci's mansion the night he was reported to be deceased. Ron's girlfriend, Catherine, isn't willing to make a statement, but in a separate room, her attorney reveals some disturbing facts. In a separate room, her attorney reveals some disturbing facts. She's not willing to make a statement. Medo de não ser entendido porque não tinha um inglês que eu sei que é pobre ainda. Eu queria pedir ajuda. Eu não sabia o que eu ia fazer. Eu queria ligar para o Spencer. Ele disse: "Eu estarei lá". O que está errado com o Spencer são os bons amigos. Eles estão juntos o tempo todo. Então eu falei para ele: "Esta é a situação. Eu vejo o corpo. Não vejo a cara, mas vejo o c******. Ele disse para mim: "Você tem que ver errado". Eu não acho que ela esperava que ele chamasse o Spencer Gordon. Ele estava muito traumatizado por isso. Como ele me disse, ele estava muito emocionado quando ele falou sobre isso. Ele não podia acreditar que isso teria acontecido. Foi o homem útil? Não. Eu não acho que foi o homem útil. Eu acho que ele estava muito traumatizado pelo que aconteceu. Os investigadores fecham suas perguntas com o Rinaldo e mudam o foco para a cena de crime para dar mais luz ao que aconteceu. A primeira coisa que eles acham é uma grande caixa e pesquisas de pesquisa. Isso seria útil se você quisesse disponibilizar um corpo na praia e garantir que ninguém o encontrasse. Você imaginaria que isso seria suspeito. Eles também descobrem evidências de uma limpação rápida. Com o olho limpo, não havia sangue lá. Você pode limpar algumas áreas com clorox e limpar completamente como você pensa que pode ser. O luminol irá trazer isso e você poderá ver. Detectives luminolam o chão de tais e encontram sangue. A trajetória sanguínea conduziu para a primeira sala de quarto e depois para a cama e onde tudo mais estava. Então eles testaram e determinaram que era sangue do Sr. Vinci. Mas, se isso aconteceu na sala de baixo das paredes, como ele chegou na sala de quarto? Talvez ela apenas os empurrou e os empurrou. Se você olhar para a Sra. Pelleggi, ela tem 85 quilos, talvez cinco e algo. Então, para essa mulher de tão pequeno tamanho ter feito isso, algo não parece certo. Eu quero a história inteira. No dia 29 de junho de 2011, o dia depois que Ron Vinci morreu, o investigador médico conduz uma autopsia completa do corpo dele. Detectives acreditam que os resultados confirmam se Ron caiu nas paredes ou foi atirado pela sua namorada de longo prazo, Catherine Pelleggi. Ainda não sabíamos o que iríamos encontrar na autopsia. A caixa de corpo foi X-rayada com o descendente e todas as regras. Uma vez que olhamos para os X-rays, temos uma sensação para qualquer coisa como balas. O X-ray deu uma dica de que provavelmente havia uma ferramenta de tiro. E então, imediatamente, podemos ver as ferramentas de força máxima no nariz e ferramentas de força máxima na cabeça. Ele também teve uma grande bruxa no peito. Ele tinha uma ferramenta de tiro na esquerda da cabeça. Ela tinha fracassado sua cintura e lacerado seu cérebro. Eu acredito que ele teve sete ferramentas de tiro em tamanho. Ele teve sete ferramentas de tiro na cabeça e cinco ferramentas de tiro no tronco dele. Quem tiver matado Ronald Vinci queria ter certeza de que ele não estava se levantando. Foi uma ferramenta de tiro. E qualquer vez que vamos para uma cena em que vemos que a ferramenta foi sustentada ou foi uma ferramenta de tiro, sabemos que é uma ferramenta de tiro pessoal. Quando os detectives estão preocupados, Catherine's refusal to cooperate with their investigation makes her the prime suspect. We suspected who may have done it, but we have to tie the suspect to the crime scene. We spent three or four days at the house. In Ron's Bentley, they find a treasure trove of evidence. In the trunk were several plastic bags filled with items. It turned out to be of evidentiary significance. Most significantly was a.380 handgun, a knife that appeared to have blood on it, and a hammer. On the.380 handgun's magazine were fingerprints that were subsequently matched to Catherine Pelleggi. Is that the same firearm that Mr. Vinci was killed with? We don't know. But according to Spencer Gordon, she's handled those firearms. So the fingerprints could have been in there from who knows whenever. We continued our investigation. We determined that she had made purchases, you know, on her credit card. She had actually went out and purchased a bin at Home Depot. She had gone to Brownies, which is a dive shop, purchased some weights, dive weights that allegedly she was going to use to take a victim's body out in the ocean and dump them. The receipts show it was her. The video surveillance showed it was her. There was no one else with her. The purchases are consistent with what the handyman, Reynaldo, told police. But what's also suspicious is when Catherine bought some of the items. The weights had been purchased the day before the body was discovered. It was a red flag because if she was planning to do this ahead of time, this would be an earmark of premeditated murder. The questions facing investigators now are: Why would Catherine plan the murder of her longtime boyfriend? And did she have help trying to dispose of his body? When they ask friends of the couple, they discover the relationship was more volatile than it appeared. Ron and I went to breakfast two or three times a week. He didn't share with me what the problem between the two of them was, but it was apparent to me that Ron would drink a bit too much. And that, I think, caused some rift between the two of them. They had reached the point, clearly, according to their friends, this relationship was not going to go very much further. Catherine and Ron even separated for a few months in 2000. One of the times that we went to breakfast, he disclosed to me the potential settlement agreement that Cathy had asked for. And that was she wanted a new car, she wanted $100,000, and she wanted the penthouse that she was living in. Ron asked me my opinion if I thought that was the right thing to do. And I told him that it was. I told him I think it was an easy doubt. But I guess that didn't happen. But friends say after their time apart, they wound up reconciling. So if Catherine was back in Ron's good graces, what was her motive for killing him? The day after Ron's murder, police learn of another suspicious death. In talking with some of Ms. Pileggi's closest friends, we were told that she blamed Mr. Vinci for her sister's death. They were out in some soiree somewhere in the Caribbean or something like that. Her sister became sick, and allegedly Mr. Vinci gave her some of his medication. But at some time thereafter, obviously the sister passed. She blamed him for her death. Certainly there was a lot of anger there. Could that be motive? Sometimes a heat of passion can be so great that it might negate conscious intent to kill. Coming up, Catherine finally opens up and reveals claims of self-defense. She realized, "Oh, this time he really meant it. He really was gonna kill me." But is she telling the truth? There was no question in my mind she had developed battered woman syndrome. Armed with evidence linking Catherine Pileggi to the death of her boyfriend, Ron Vinci, Florida police obtain a warrant for her arrest on July 5th, 2011. At this point, based on witness testimony, based on the evidence collected at the scene and processed, we submitted it to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to say I think we have no problem with calling this arrest term. But now, Catherine has hired a new attorney, Bruce Udolph. I got the call from Fort Lauderdale. to help police, asking me to bring her down to self-surrender. She did so. Our crime scene folks photographed her and fingerprinted her. We got DNA swaps from her. She was charged with murder in the first degree. Once again, Catherine refuses to give a statement to police. Months later, when Catherine is evaluated by a forensic psychologist, her version of events finally comes to light. She confessed that she had shot Mr. Vinci. But Catherine claims it had nothing to do with money or her sister's death. According to her, she was a long-term victim of domestic abuse. She was going to offer a defense that what she did was an overreaction due to battered spouse. Catherine's mother, Catherine, was a victim of domestic abuse. Lawfully and rightfully and morally correct. A prosecutor who goes for a first-degree murder conviction and doesn't get it is going to be upset about it. This one didn't get it and was satisfied with that outcome. That alone tells you that this case is highly unusual. After two days, the jury returns with a verdict. She was found guilty of a second-degree murder. And ultimately, the judge indicated that although he didn't want to impose a sentence of 25 years, he felt he had to because the case involved use of a firearm, which under the law calls for a mandatory firearm. A firearm sentence of 25 years. Ultimately, the self-defense was not believed. By this jury. I would say that this was one of the more nuanced cases that I've ever covered because you had a suspect, a defendant, who fit the role of victim in a lot of different ways. And you definitely feel compassion for her. I can't help but wonder, whether she's been punished enough, given that she had no criminal history in this one moment when she snapped, literally snapped, and had this out-of-body experience. No matter how you look at it, it's a troubling case. There are other details that still nag at the minds of investigators. When we went to the grand jury, one of the grand juries actually asked us, why haven't we arrested Mr. Gordon? And I had that same question. Well, we haven't arrested Mr. Gordon because we don't have the evidence to show that he was involved. But how did this frail woman, you know, do what she did? It will always stick with me. As far as Ron is concerned, I really enjoyed his company. I enjoyed his friendship. I never had a dislike for Kathy. I liked her. I never expected any of this. So it was a complete shock to me. It was hard for anybody to get their mind around how it happened. Sad, sad story. ♪ ♪ music playing ♪