mysteriew
A diamond in process
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I haven't found much on her disappearance yet, but the primary suspect has been arrested for the murder of a girlfriend.
Back then, Rizzo was the main suspect in the disappearance of his wife, who left behind their baby daughter. Even though Rizzo's alibi was quickly disproved, Murphy said, there was never enough evidence to charge him.
The wife's car was found burned, but no body was inside. Police searched a landfill, but no body was found. They even exhumed two bodies from a cemetery where Rizzo's brother worked, but still nothing.
"I'm convinced to this day that he's responsible for her disappearance and death," Murphy said this past week. "But at the time we had no body, we had no witnesses, we had absolutely no physical evidence, we had nothing that could prove this woman was dead or even had been harmed."
Rizzo, 54, denied any role in the disappearance and went on with his life, raising the couple's daughter in the New Rochelle house they had shared while running a contracting business.
Then, two months ago, Rizzo drew the attention of police again.
Police surrounded the Yonkers home of Rizzo's longtime girlfriend, Carmela LaPuma, 49, after hearing that he was holding her hostage. Gunshots rang out and police found LaPuma dead.
Rizzo was arrested on murder charges. Police said the couple had recently broken up and Rizzo had been demanding the return of $60,000 worth of jewelry he had given LaPuma over the years.
The evidence against Rizzo includes a videotape of Rizzo freely implicating himself after his arrest, said Ann Marie Corbalis, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
The tape doesn't seem to bother defense attorney Michael Santangelo, who said he is considering a psychiatric defense.
"The circumstances of his admission will support the defense we intend to proffer at trial," Santangelo said.
He insists that the disappearance of Rizzo's wife, Isabel Lopez Rizzo, has no bearing on the new case and should not be mentioned during any trial.
"As much as I think and feel he did it, there's absolutely no evidence at all that can justify making the case," the deputy police commissioner said. "We looked at everything."
Murphy remembers Rizzo refusing to answer questions after his story that he was out playing cards and nightclubbing and came home to find the baby in the crib and his wife missing was not verified by the people he said he was with.
Rizzo said his wife probably returned to her native Chile, although relatives there said they hadn't seen her.
"He would say `Why are you saying she's dead? Do you have a body?'" said Murphy, then a lieutenant.
"And of course we didn't have a body. But as best we can put it together, she was very devoted to that child. Her disappearance was certainly not reasonable. She left her clothing behind, she left her handbag behind, her identification, her money, her credit cards, her driver's license and such."
"There is an active investigation into the disappearance of Isabel Lopez," she said.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1369473&page=2
Back then, Rizzo was the main suspect in the disappearance of his wife, who left behind their baby daughter. Even though Rizzo's alibi was quickly disproved, Murphy said, there was never enough evidence to charge him.
The wife's car was found burned, but no body was inside. Police searched a landfill, but no body was found. They even exhumed two bodies from a cemetery where Rizzo's brother worked, but still nothing.
"I'm convinced to this day that he's responsible for her disappearance and death," Murphy said this past week. "But at the time we had no body, we had no witnesses, we had absolutely no physical evidence, we had nothing that could prove this woman was dead or even had been harmed."
Rizzo, 54, denied any role in the disappearance and went on with his life, raising the couple's daughter in the New Rochelle house they had shared while running a contracting business.
Then, two months ago, Rizzo drew the attention of police again.
Police surrounded the Yonkers home of Rizzo's longtime girlfriend, Carmela LaPuma, 49, after hearing that he was holding her hostage. Gunshots rang out and police found LaPuma dead.
Rizzo was arrested on murder charges. Police said the couple had recently broken up and Rizzo had been demanding the return of $60,000 worth of jewelry he had given LaPuma over the years.
The evidence against Rizzo includes a videotape of Rizzo freely implicating himself after his arrest, said Ann Marie Corbalis, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
The tape doesn't seem to bother defense attorney Michael Santangelo, who said he is considering a psychiatric defense.
"The circumstances of his admission will support the defense we intend to proffer at trial," Santangelo said.
He insists that the disappearance of Rizzo's wife, Isabel Lopez Rizzo, has no bearing on the new case and should not be mentioned during any trial.
"As much as I think and feel he did it, there's absolutely no evidence at all that can justify making the case," the deputy police commissioner said. "We looked at everything."
Murphy remembers Rizzo refusing to answer questions after his story that he was out playing cards and nightclubbing and came home to find the baby in the crib and his wife missing was not verified by the people he said he was with.
Rizzo said his wife probably returned to her native Chile, although relatives there said they hadn't seen her.
"He would say `Why are you saying she's dead? Do you have a body?'" said Murphy, then a lieutenant.
"And of course we didn't have a body. But as best we can put it together, she was very devoted to that child. Her disappearance was certainly not reasonable. She left her clothing behind, she left her handbag behind, her identification, her money, her credit cards, her driver's license and such."
"There is an active investigation into the disappearance of Isabel Lopez," she said.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1369473&page=2
