I was a close friend of Ilona and Gianni. I actually signed up just to join this thread. I wish I had found this earlier, I've been desperately searching for more information about a lot of the things you've been discussing. It's also refreshing to see people exploring all of the possibilities and oddities about the case, nearly all of the comments I've seen elsewhere say something to the effect of "Obviously a love triangle, Gianni killed them and ran away. Case closed." I'm glad that others are seeing the same mysteries I am, and I'm apparently not just blinded by my love and respect for them.
I'd prefer to remain anonymous. I don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm seeking attention from this tragedy.
I met Ilona about 5-6 years ago, and Gianni a few months after that. I never met Salvatore. We became increasingly good friends until they moved to San Diego roughly two years ago (I live in Provo, Utah) , after which we still stayed in touch but I obviously saw them much less. The last time I saw them in person was about a year ago when they briefly visited Provo. My last contact was texting with Ilona about a month ago, she seemed happy (as usual) and didn't give any indication that anything was wrong.
I'm sharing all this because I'd like to be able to talk openly about this, so knowing a little background would probably be helpful. I'd also like to find answers, and help all of you do the same. So perhaps I'll be able to help you fill in some blanks about their lives and/or character, and hopefully we'll all get a clearer picture of what happened. At this point, the case is deeply confusing to me. The many articles I've read about it have only left with me more questions, many of which seem to have been discussed here.
Here's what I can say about them: they're both extraordinarily kind. I genuinely agree with all of the glowing remarks about their character that other friends have made in the media (by the way, I haven't spoken to or been contacted by the press). Both of them always showed genuine interest in me and my life, and would even ask about little details that I had told them months prior. They're remarkably complimentary, and we seemed to agree on just about everything we discussed (politics, music, philosophy, etc.). I don't recall ever seeing either of them angry- neither at each other, or in general. The closest thing to anger I witnessed was when I was telling them a story about someone (they didn't know) that wronged me, and they just expressed anger in a supportive way.
They were very positive. Ilona in particular seemed to just radiate happiness. They were also crazy about each other. As has been reported in the media, they've been dating for quite a long time. And at least when I was around them, they didn't show any signs of tiring of each other. It's really difficult for me to imagine Ilona cheating on Gianni, especially with his own brother. As I said before, I never met Sal but both of them mentioned their respect for him and told me that I should meet him (though he had already moved to San Diego at that point).
I would like to help in any way I can. Feel free to ask me any questions that I might be able to answer. I'll be happy to answer if it's potentially relevant and/or doesn't violate their privacy. I am friends with both Gianni and Ilona on Facebook.
Here are a few of my lingering questions:
- TravelingBug mentioned hearing a snippet of Ilona's 9/11 call. I didn't think any of that had been released. Did you hear it on the police scanner or from the press? Either way, does anyone know where I could find any of it?
- TravelingBug, you also mentioned driving through that area since this occurred. Was any of the crime scene still active? If so, did you notice where any of the evidence markers were? Like if there were shell casings or anything away from the final location of the car. Your theory about being shot in separate instances is interesting, and I haven't heard that mentioned anywhere else.
- Sealing Sal's cause-of-death doesn't make any sense to me. What could they possibly want to hide? That seemed like the one thing that was definitely clear... his dying from multiple gunshot wounds. That's not standard operating procedure in open cases like this, is it?
- What's with all the conflicting information about Gianni's last known location and presence (or lack thereof) at the mall? Do most of you think that the police are actually pretty clear about his whereabouts at the time and they're withholding that information?
- How significant is it that Gianni hasn't been named as a suspect? Is that typical in missing-person situations in which they don't want to discourage his return? It hasn't been reported that Ilona named him as the shooter in her 9-1-1 call, and it seems like she definitely would have. Would the police be obligated to report that he's armed and dangerous if they thought he was? I can't tell if I'm blinded by high opinion of Gianni, or if it really is likely that he had nothing to do with this (or was another victim).
Here are some photos of each of them:
