PA PA - Richard Petrone, 35, & Danielle Imbo, 34, Philadelphia, 19 Feb 2005 - #3

[Bounceycat]

Of course there are NO articles to post that say most people in Philly believe this.

But as someone who lived near Abilene's when this happened, frequents South Philly and personally knows detectives who worked on the case: most people that I have talked to about the case, do NOT believe their truck is in the water.

If you cannot back up your claim with a link, you need to be very clear that it's your opinion based on your personal experiences.

 

[JnRyan]

I didn't know them personally, but Danielle lived one town over from me, and I worked with a friend of her family. I lived one town over from her ex husband. I never saw anything to suggest her ex would be involved.
He had an air tight alibi with cops as his witness, and if he hired someone like a hitman, how did a hitman happen to find them outside of a random Philly bar after their impromptu meetup there? Then how would a hitman manage to get rid of 2 bodies and a truck assuming he attacked the couple outside of the bar? Finally, for those that say this is a 'mob hit'- since when does the mob do hits on civilians outside the mob that they had no beef with- especially one being a woman?
I don't buy it, that truck is in the water between Philly and Jersey

Which leaves us pondering - what was the motive? IF this was a hit, I can see the killer following one of them. Of course, with this scenario, one of them might be the target and the other was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I see what you're saying about a hit man. But it just seems too well organized for a random crime or the two of them stumbling into a crime in progress.

As I think about this though, do we really know if it all went down outside the bar? What if they decided to stop somewhere else - another bar, a convenience store. And somewhere at that 2nd location or on the way they were car jacked and it went sideways. Would someone who has car jacked others in the past know a good chop shop? Or a convenient place to drive it into a body of water? I suppose that is one way this could have been a random crime.

 

[JnRyan]

Of course there are NO articles to post that say most people in Philly believe this.

But as someone who lived near Abilene's when this happened, frequents South Philly and personally knows detectives who worked on the case: most people that I have talked to about the case, do NOT believe their truck is in the water.

Interesting.

 

[Shamrock1]

I wouldn’t be surprised if *pieces* of the car are in water. Chop shop and then scattered disposal. There are a a significant number of “chop shops” throughout the city, IMO. A Google search of “auto chop shops philadelphia” will yield a number of MSM examples. Someone in law enforcement would likely have an awareness of these business. JMO.

 

[JnRyan]

Chop shop vs water. With the chop shop there might be potential witnesses. That is, someone at the shop might be arrested on another charge and might ask for a deal. Chop shop might involve others not directly involved in the murders. Water might also involve a witness. Such as a second person to drive the killer away from the water scene.

The water scenario introduces another possibility - that this wasn't a murder but an accident. IOW, Richard and Danielle didn't drive directly home and ended up in the water in an area they weren't familiar with. Therefore, no suspect(s), no motive.

 

[Valiant]

If it was a “professional” hit the car would not be chopped up. It would be gone immediately. No one wants involved in pedaling parts from a murder victim’s vehicle. It’s not worth the risk for the money made from the parts. Some major parts like the engine and transmission have the VIN inscribed on them, and even sometimes regular body parts may have the VIN as well. Just my opinion, but there is a big difference between selling stolen car parts and possibly being an accessory to murder (destroying evidence after the fact).

 

[Dnp2be]

I often wonder if they didn’t stop somewhere off the beaten path and as mentioned above possibly ended up in the water not knowing the area well. I don’t think it’s that far of a stretch to consider finding a remote place to stop and do what single ppl do after drinking a little (talking and catching up of course). I know many ppl have said all the waters were checked around there and I’ve never personally been there but if the weren’t on the normal route, maybe that’s why they’ve never found the truck.

 

[ilovewings]

And they say there is no perfect crime--- I suggest this is one!

 

[Valiant]

And they say there is no perfect crime--- I suggest this is one!

If there is even a crime.

 

[ErinC]

Honestly, IMO I don't believe there is a crime. We've seen on Websleuths many times, that if people go missing with their vehicle, it has involved some sort of accident and they're in the water, down a ravine, etc. I wonder if they didn't get lost- GPS existed back then but most of us were still printing out instructions from Yahoo Maps in 2005- and the vehicle thus isn't in a body of water/ravine/etc that would be normal for them to be in, and hasn't been checked yet. We might do well to scope out locations that contain water or sharp curves/drops/etc, that aren't on the way they would have usually gone but that are feasible for them to have gotten to after leaving the bar.

 

[geojeffrey]

I often wonder if they didn’t stop somewhere off the beaten path and as mentioned above possibly ended up in the water not knowing the area well. I don’t think it’s that far of a stretch to consider finding a remote place to stop and do what single ppl do after drinking a little (talking and catching up of course). I know many ppl have said all the waters were checked around there and I’ve never personally been there but if the weren’t on the normal route, maybe that’s why they’ve never found the truck.

Your point makes good sense--and certainly is a possibility. BUT, one thing to add is that it was a very cold and unusually windy night, and it was late--not an ideal night for exploring.

 

[ilovewings]

If there is even a crime.

Danielle Imbo And Richard Petrone Both Disappeared Without A Trace - Here’s What We Know

On the night of February 19, 2005, on-again, off-again couple Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone left a South Philadelphia bar and were never seen again. This case is both interesting and unusual because police have found almost no evidence of what happened to them. Both the families and...

www.ranker.com

Law enforcement believes this was a professional hit---I think I believe their theory as they have thoroughly investigated this case for many years.

 

[Shamrock1]

I often wonder if they didn’t stop somewhere off the beaten path and as mentioned above possibly ended up in the water not knowing the area well. I don’t think it’s that far of a stretch to consider finding a remote place to stop and do what single ppl do after drinking a little (talking and catching up of course). I know many ppl have said all the waters were checked around there and I’ve never personally been there but if the weren’t on the normal route, maybe that’s why they’ve never found the truck.

It’s not easy to accidentally enter the water leaving South Street, and Google searches for cars in the river largely return results for cars intentionally driven into the water.

If they accidentally entered the water, it would be in a sparsely populated area in NJ (or PA, I suppose) and nowhere near the BF or WW bridges. I guess it’s also possible that accidental entry could have been made in the Pennsauken/Cherry Hill area.

Personally, I think they were intentionally targeted and the primary target was probably Imbo.

JMO.

 

[kemo]

This case has always interested me. The obvious explanation would be that the pickup skidded of the road into a body of water. I have never been involved in a “hired hit” but my guess is that it would be extremely unusual for a “hit man” to not only disappear two bodies but to disappear the vehicle as well. Disposing of the vehicle so that it isn’t ever found would be difficult and would greatly increase the chance of something going wrong. It would involve more time spent with critical evidence and multiple crime scenes. And, it really wouldn’t serve any purpose. The key to a successful “hit” is that the contractor is never identified and the contractee is not tied to the kill. The victim’s vehicle shouldn’t really matter. Anything is possible I suppose but this just isn’t what a normal “hired hit” looks like.

 

[ilovewings]

This case has always interested me. The obvious explanation would be that the pickup skidded of the road into a body of water. I have never been involved in a “hired hit” but my guess is that it would be extremely unusual for a “hit man” to not only disappear two bodies but to disappear the vehicle as well. Disposing of the vehicle so that it isn’t ever found would be difficult and would greatly increase the chance of something going wrong. It would involve more time spent with critical evidence and multiple crime scenes. And, it really wouldn’t serve any purpose. The key to a successful “hit” is that the contractor is never identified and the contractee is not tied to the kill. The victim’s vehicle shouldn’t really matter. Anything is possible I suppose but this just isn’t what a normal “hired hit” looks like.

All I can say is it looked that way to law enforcement. Anything of course is possible-

 

[Kristin83]

Recently a podcast came out on this case...only a few episodes so far but it's excellent. For anyone interested in this case I'd strongly encourage listening. It has really gone into Richard & Danielle's relationship, the relationship between the 2 families, and the events in Danielle's life leading up to the disappearance. Their poor families are suffering so much to this day.

There and Gone: South Street | iHeart

There and Gone: South Street covers the case of Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo. Richard and Danielle were last seen leaving a bar in Philadelphia only to never be seen again. Nearly two decades later, they have never been found. Unlike most cases, there is not a single piece of physical...

www.iheart.com

 

[TTF14]

Recently a podcast came out on this case...only a few episodes so far but it's excellent. For anyone interested in this case I'd strongly encourage listening. It has really gone into Richard & Danielle's relationship, the relationship between the 2 families, and the events in Danielle's life leading up to the disappearance. Their poor families are suffering so much to this day.

There and Gone: South Street | iHeart

There and Gone: South Street covers the case of Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo. Richard and Danielle were last seen leaving a bar in Philadelphia only to never be seen again. Nearly two decades later, they have never been found. Unlike most cases, there is not a single piece of physical...

www.iheart.com

Thank you thank you! I will definitely listen to this.

 

[geojeffrey]

THANKS for forwarding the NEW podcast--I am going to listen now, and hoping for some crumbs of new information.

 

[Iknewit80]

Really enjoying the podcast. It said after the bar, they were going to go back to Richard's place in South Philadelphia and then drop her off at her place in Jersey. I know they don't show up on the bridge cameras headed to Jersey, but was it ever confirmed if they made it to Richard's home before heading to Jersey. Did any of his neighbors in South Philadelphia see them arrive and leave?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Really enjoying the podcast. It said after the bar, they were going to go back to Richard's place in South Philadelphia and then drop her off at her place in Jersey. I know they don't show up on the bridge cameras headed to Jersey, but was it ever confirmed if they made it to Richard's home before heading to Jersey. Did any of his neighbors in South Philadelphia see them arrive and leave?

I have never heard of any sightings after they left the restaurant. I also have never heard of anything Richard's residence being amiss.