In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. The segment was expected to air on Thursday, Jan. 12. In other words, Peter Porcos fleetingtransformation into a real-world ghost washaunting but not particularly mysterious. A bloody axe left at the scene belonged to the family.". Many jurors sat stone-faced as they listened to Joan Porco's testimony, which included anecdotes about her boys' childhoods that made some jurors laugh, along with Christopher. Peter once again wrote to his son, who had not answered his parents' phone calls in weeks: "I want you to know that if you abuse my credit again, I will be forced to file forgery affidavits in order to disclaim liability and that applies to the Citibank college loan if you attempt to reactivate it or use my credit to obtain any other loan. Surveillance cameras. A firemans ax that was used in the attack was lying in the couples blood-drenched bedroom. Joan was lying in the couple's blood-drenched bed with severe head and facial trauma. [8], Trial testimony showed that on November 15, 2004, the Porco family's security code was used to disable the alarm system at their home. Shanks noted that Frank Porco's nickname with the mob was "The Fireman," which could have had something to do with the type of murder weapon found (an axe that he and his wife had dubbed a "fire axe"). Public Domain Joan and Peter Porco were sleeping in their bed when their son bludgeoned them with an ax. She supported her son throughout the trial. It was a cold November night in 2004 when police responded to a disturbance at a suburban home in Delmar, New York. Joan Porco, Voorheesville, appellant pro se. The current status is active. I mean, youll only load it once, but, better than never!/s. The movie depicted those events along with the trial. Long before the tragedy: Joan and Peter Porco with their sons, Christopher on the left, in the 1980s A jury convicted Christopher, an academically derelict University of Rochester student from Bethlehem, New York, of attacking Joan and Peter Porco with an ax as they slept on November 15, 2004. Peter's wife, Joan, was found on a bed that was completely covered in blood. [16] He also lied to fellow students to make it appear that he came from a wealthy family with oceanfront homes. (A second removed part of his jaw.) A fireman's ax belonging to the Porcos and used in the attack was found in the couple's bedroom. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) Christopher Porco escorts his mother Joan Porco from the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen at lunch during the third day of jury selection on Wednesday June 28, 2006. Probably not; probably, his mother lied to him. Still, there were many other issues, including Christopher's unpaid bills, that caused the couple great concern in the months preceding the attack. "I'm concerned with these behaviors," Joan Porco wrote to her son. For almost six hours Monday, Joan Porco sat in a witness box only a few feet away from the son who stands accused of using an ax to try and kill her and of murdering his father. After the attack, Porco was convicted in 2006 by an Albany jury during a highly publicized trial of both the murder of his father, Peter Porco, and the attempted murder of his mother, Joan Porco . For example, Porco lied to obtain both a car and tuition payments. "[13], The following day, Peter Porco was notified that Christopher had also obtained a line of credit from Citibank to finance the Jeep Wrangler, again using his father's name as a cosignatory. Heres a recap of the Forensic Files episode plus some additional facts about the Porco case drawn from Crime Library, 48 Hours, and Albanys Times Union newspaper. Joan Porco and her son, Christopher, arrive at Albany County Court House for a hearing on May 16, 2006. Still, therewere noeyewitnesses placing Christopher directly at the crime scene inside the house. Defense Attorney Laurie Shanks was quick to point out that Spurgas is a neurosurgeon and not a neurologist, and cannot testify as an expert witness with respect to cognitive functions. Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com. According to the court opinion, Lifetime had . Four months later, on July 22, Joan Porco wrote to Christopher again as debt notices for him were received at the Porcos' Delmar home. The Porco family were from Delmar, NY - Peter Porco was 52 at the time of the murder (he worked as a court clerk) and he lived with his wife Joan, who was a speech pathologist. Eventually, his deception caught up to him. He's covered in blood, saturated in blood, and obviously suffered tremendous catastrophic injuries." During their investigation, prosecutors discovered that Christopher had posed as his own brother, sending emails to the customers falsely stating that his brother had died and was unable to deliver the items. [15] During videotaped testimony submitted to the grand jury in December 2004, Joan testified about her family, but did not identify her son as an attacker. A camera reported missing from the burglary was recovered from the couple's front yard. Asof this writing, Christopher, 33, isprisoner #O6A6686 at New York states Clinton Correctional Facility, commonly known as Dannemora. The trial recessed at the end of the day Thursday, and is scheduled to resume on Monday, July 10.. ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) - Friday marks 15 years since the infamous murder of a father and mutilation of a mother in Delmar by Christopher Porco, who attacked his parents with an axe. `I asked her if she had memories, but never specifically of the attack,` said Spurgas. Porco had been convicted of murdering his father and attempting to murder his mother, Joan Porco. Subscribe Subscribe; e-Edition I took them upstairs. But the manhad agoodalibi. She survived, though she lost one eye and parts of her skull, and was left with facial disfigurement. 1 suspect. Change-of-venue requests are rarely granted but Terence L. Kindlon, who teamed with his wife, Laurie Shanks, to defend Porco, successfully convinced an appeals court that the trial needed to be moved from Albany County. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. `I repaired the brain the best I could.`. Joan and Peter Porco, who died from his injuries, were found on Nov. 15, 2004, setting in motion an intensive 21-month investigation and the most widely followed murder case on record in this. ABC News writes that someone broke into their home in Bethlehem, New York, and attacked them with an ax in their sleep. She accompanied him to court and testified for the defense. But, ironically, the lack of diligence that sulliedChristophersscholarly pursuitsalso hinderedhis get-rich-quick plan. The 21-year-old. It starred Lolita Davidovich as Joan Porco and Eric McCormackas Detective Sullivan presumably a composite character representing police who worked on the case. She remains steadfast in the belief her son is innocent. The lawyeralso noted that Peter Porco sometimes deactivated the burglar alarm whenletting the dog out at night and then forgot to turn it back on another challenge to the prosecutions assertionthat Christopher punched in the code the night of the murder and attempted murder. They found Joan in the blood drenched bedroom, lying in bed and, remarkably, still alive. Some thoughts with regard to Joan's brain injury: Before paramedics took her to the hospital, Detective Christopher Bowdish questioned her about the attacker. Bethlehem Police soon focused their investigation on Christopher Porco, the younger of the couple's two sons, who was a student at the University of Rochester 230 miles away. she also initially claimed it was their son, then after getting out of coma, claimed it wasn't son who attacked them. Omg i can't imagine this, this is beyond sad. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He was not. The neocortex is especially vulnerable to external injury, according to theHandbook of Affective Sciences(Oxford University Press, 2003). She too suffered the same grievous injuries to her face and head that her husband had endured - - a portion of her brain was actually exposed - - but she was conscious. Spotlight News states that Peter was extensively maimed and had a deep cut from his skull to his brain. And he neglected to tell his parentsthat the universityhadsuspended him because of poor gradesand he had wasted his $30,000 in tuition money. Miraculously, she was clinging on to life when investigators and medics arrived at the crime scene hours later. It had footage of the yellow Jeep leaving and returning to campus at an interval that fit a realistic timeline for commission of the crime: 10:30 p.m. Jeep left Rochester campus "[10] Porco earned readmission to the University of Rochester with a forged transcript from Hudson Valley Community College. Christopher Porco, now 39, is pictured here in a prison mugshot taken at state prison in November 2009. Photo taken of Joan Porco after the attack Photo Source: Times Union (website) The amount of forensic and circumstantial evidence was over whelming. Mob link. She walked into the courtroom just after 10 a.m., called as a witness for the prosecution. After the vicious attack of 16 heavy blows to head with an ax that penetrated his skull and took off his jaw, Peter Porto starts his day like nothing ever happened. [6], Christopher Bowdish, a Bethlehem Police detective, stated that, as medical personnel attended to Joan Porco at her home, he took a moment to ask her whether she could identify her attacker. Contact him at mgoodwin@timesunion.com or 518-454-5465. On 15 November 2004, Joan and Peter Porco had been found seemingly murdered. ", "Christopher Porco, The College Student Who Chopped Up His Parents With An Ax After An Argument About Money", "Porco trial: Prosecutors point to unusual alarm logs", "Timeline, vet's words proved damning to Porco", "Timeline around murder includes text messaging, exit tolls", "EZ-Pass, forged transcripts focus of testimony", "Jurors see video of yellow Jeep leaving campus", "An unfamiliar face in a distant courtroom", "Former neighbor who saw Jeep testifies; prosecution rests", "Jury delivers quick verdict; Porco mom absent", "Christopher Porco gets maximum sentence; Convicted killer speaks for the first time", "Disabled mother of killer Christopher Porco loses pension case", Supreme Court will not hear Christopher Porco's appeal; Bethlehem man convicted of killing his father, assaulting his mother with an axe in '04, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh5SPILKVi8, "TV Review: 'Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story', "Christopher Porco wins minor court victory in TV movie case", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1iSCSRZrW8, Christopher Porco Murder Trial special report at timesunion.com. She has publicly supported her. Part of the problem stemmed from complaints from consumers who reported that Christopher had taken money from them for computers or other products but never delivered the goods as promised. As the publication notes, nothing bad ever happened in Bethlehem; a crime like this was inconceivable. No content to be reprinted without express permission.. Picture Window theme. An Albany County medical examiner would determine that Peter, 52, had sustained massive head injuries causing his death. He has been a journalist since 1995 and the Times Union has been his home since 2002. Theme images by, Investigating the Atlanta Child Murders of 1979 - 1981, The Murderous Assaults of Peter and Joan Porco, The Porco family in the 1980s; Christopher is on the left, Joan and Chris, heading into court together. [14], After Joan Porco emerged from a medically induced coma, she stated that she was unable to remember the attack and asserted that she believed her son Christopher to be innocent. He is currently living at the home of Elaine LaForte and her family in Glenmont. This is a carousel. Today, the now 39-year-old Porco is serving 46 years to life at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, the hulking North Country prison thats seen its own share of controversy. During breaks in the trial Monday, and after the jury had cleared from the courtroom, Joan Porco walked over to her son at the defense table. 518.439.4949, SPOTTED: CD Jets beats Saratoga 4-2 in sectional playoffs, SPOTTED: Bethlehem boys hoops beat Niskayuna in OT, move on to play Sunday, Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter February 15th 22nd, SPOTTED: Albany vs Colonie boys basketball postponed due to medical emergency rescheduled for tonight, SPOTTED: Bethlehem swims past Albany in final dual meet, SPOTTED: Raiders win battle of Colonie over Shaker 55-33, SPOTTED: Bethlehem, Shaker and Saratoga gymnasts tumble for hunger. Long before the tragedy: Joan and Peter Porco with their sons, Christopher on the left, in the 1980s A jury convicted Christopher, an academically derelict University of Rochester student from Bethlehem, New York, of attacking Joan and Peter Porco with an ax as they slept on November 15, 2004. This guy is a machine. We affirm. 358, P.C 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman. Joan would lose her left eye and a portion of her skull. The behavior of the Porcos dog, which the prosecution had used as evidence, was also disputed in the appeal. Jonathan Porco, an officer in the U.S. Navy, said that his brotherwas one of a handful of people who knew the alarms four-digit deactivation code. None of thathelped. I know they are out there. Despite the shrill tone of many of the e-mails, Joan Porco said she and her husband, who died from his injuries, believed they would be able to straighten out the issues once Christopher came home and talked to them. As a result of her poor eyesight, Shanks asked to read a series of e-mails to the jury that Joan had exchanged with her son in the 11 months preceding the attack. At this point, I have little confidence that they will ever be caught.. Joan testified that she had no memory of the attacks or that she ever accused her some of harming her. A True Crime Blog of People Behaving Badly. The Walkthrough of the CREEPIEST, CRAZIEST Crime Scene Ever. 2:14 a.m. Burglar alarm deactivated at parents home I was surprised to read thatRomeo Killerportrayed Christopher Porco as a charming ladies man with lots of friends. She was lying in the couple's blood-drenched bed and had suffered severe head and facial trauma. BLOG: Visit our Porco Trial blog for updates throughout the day. He was also doing tons of shit that he could have faced actual jail time over, including burglary, fraud, and forging his fathers signature on some major loans. Both parents wrote emails to Christopher discussing their concerns. I avoid that task WITHOUT the excuse of a head injury. [21] Nine months later, she wrote a letter for publication in the Albany Times Union in which she urged authorities to leave Christopher alone and "to search for Peter's real killer or killers, so that he can rest in peace and my sons and I can live in safety. CASE STUDY: The Flawed Interview of a Psychopathic Killer: What Went Wrong? P E N N S Y L V A N I A b 1 A i t L i ;>VCAI; BOX T601 N.'S?A?R ROOM H A R R I S B U R G , PA. 17126 Junior, Senior High Home Room Schedules in Today's Allegheny Magazine WE Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, Albany (William E. Storrs of counsel), for respondent. 21-year-old Christopher Porco killed his father, Peter, and badly injured his mother, Joan, on November 15, 2004 in Bethlehem, New York. The Porcos believed the computer was stolen during a burglary at their Brockley Drive home, and Joan Porco did not learn the truth until last year. [4] He returned to Delmar that evening. An axe belonging to family, which was used in the attack, was found in the couple's bedroom. But jurors interviewed by 48 Hours Mystery said that they had dismissed the testimony about the nod for precisely that reason and had insteadrelied onthe prosecutions crime timeline as proof of guilt. He alsocommitted a number of financial crimes against his parents. Joan believed Christopher was 100% innocent. In 2006, a jury in Goshen walked into an Orange County courtroom and convicted Christopher Porco of murdering his father, Peter, and attempting to kill his mother, Joan, in their Bethlehem home. At 7.28pm, Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead. This week, its back to Forensic Files, withFamily Ties (no relation to the 1980s sitcom of the same name). After the trial, jurors commented that this testimony helped to explain the fact that police did not find blood in Porco's vehicle after the attack. I'm calling Citibank this morning to find out what you have done and am going to tell them I'm not to be on it as a co-signer. On November 15, 2004, Peter Porco, a 52-year-old state Appellate Division court clerk, was found dead of massive head injuries in his home in Delmar, New York. Heres one: Benny1311: I was a year above Porco in school. Blood evidence left at the scene showed that, despite having 16 major wounds to his face and head including a penetration wound to his brain and the removal of part of his jaw, Peter continued about his morning routines as normal. [12] Also, University of Rochester students testified that they did not see Porco sleeping in a dormitory lounge on the night of the attack. Joan went so far as to write letters to the Times Union, asking police to "go after the real killers." She has been her son's staunchest supporter, accusing police of bungling the investigation and charging the wrong person. (In fact, a number of reader comments posted to the aforementioned website articles blasted Terence Kindlon and Laurie Shanks for defending Christopher so vigorously in court.). Joan Porco was soon discovered by police officers. He used eBay to sell computer equipmentstolen from his parents anda veterinary hospital where he worked part time. inviting readers to weigh in on Christopher Porcos guilt or innocence, brief to the New York State Court of Appeals, The Lindbergh Kidnapping: Forensic Files Lost Episode, Dawn Fehring: A Missionary Dies Too Young, Joanne Chambers and Paula Nawrocki: Strange Lesson. Thus, Peter got out of bed and proceeded to start his day. He needed another $30,000 once Rochester let him back in. In one case, authorities said, Christopher allegedly posed as Johnathan and told a purchaser that the sale could not be honored because his brother had died. 4:59 a.m. [23], In statements to the press and criminal proceedings, Kindlon suggested that the Bethlehem Police Department had made Christopher Porco's guilt a foregone conclusion. The children were sent to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth. The only direct evidence at trial was testimony by government witnesses that Christopher's grievously injured mother, Joan Porco, several hours after the attack, and after police had fully secured the crime scene, and while suffering from untreated and profound wounds to her eyes, face, brain and head, nodded in response to police questions Good Lord, the human body is capable of some amazing things with the assistance of adrenaline. Peering inthe front-door window,Hart saw Peters body sprawled on the floor amid a huge amount of blood. Peter sustained 16 devastating blows from the ax, only one of which, surprisingly, actually penetrated his skull. She suffered disfiguring injuries to her head and face, including the loss of an eye, and slight damage to her brain. After the discovery of Peters body, Joan was found and taken to a hospital. Per the Times Union, Peter behaved as if nothing had happened to him or his wife. I was always floored hearing this dude loaded a dishwasher after being bludgeoned with an axe. Joan Porco nodded "yes." The mother suffered brain damage and other major injuries, but has strongly supported her son and attested to his innocence. In fact, on the weekend of the murder, they had hoped he would be there to talk, she said. Phone line cut (this was 2004, when land lines were relevant) Joan lost her left eye, a portion of her skull and was disfigured. 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. Thats all for this weeks post, but Id like to continue next Thursday with a look at some of the other interesting parts of the Christopher Porco drama, including the way hisdoomed father woke up after the attack, the conflicting tales about whether Christopher deserved the Romeo Killer nickname a made-for-TV movie gave him, and his recent efforts to exithis maximum-security residence. Hell beeligible for parole in the year 2052. The craziest part is he was at the bathroom sink. Peter Porco was murdered with an ax on Nov. 15, 2004, and Joan Porco survived severe . The assault had broken her jaw, destroyed one of her eyes, and penetrated her skull deeply enough to expose her brain. He told police he was sleeping in the lounge of hisdormitory, Munro House, during the time of the attacks. Shanks said Christopher Porco was last seen at the University of Rochester on Nov. 14, 2004 at 10:30 p.m., and even if jurors believed he drove the length of the Thruway to get to 36 Brockley in . `You certainly didnt ask Mrs. Porco any questions,` continued Shanks. Police contended that eight months earlier, on November 28, 2002, Christopher staged a burglary at his parents' home in which he stole a Macintosh laptop computer and a Dell laptop computer. Spotlight News, The Spot 518 and Capital District Family Now are divisions of Community Media Group, LLC. He told her the credit device, called a "Mobil SpeedPass," had been stolen. The owner of criminalmisconduct.blogspot.com will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. [6] The grand jury would field more testimony before handing up an indictment against Christopher in November 2005, one year after the attacks. All in all, Christopher was in the hole for at least$50,000 a lot of debt, butnotinsurmountable. [3], An axe belonging to the family, which was used in the attack, was found in the garage. "You shouldn't cry over spilled milk." First and foremost, the medical one. The corporate entity was filed on July 31, 2020 in the jurisdiction of Florida. Joan Porco could not communicate for a period of time after surgery because her jaw was wired shut and she was fed through a feeding tube. In 2011 the reboot series of Great Crimes and Trials made an episode about the case. Flights of fancy. Spurgas is considered an expert witness for the prosecution because of the 7,000 surgeries he performed throughout his career, hundreds of them involving brain and spinal cord injuries. Son Guilty In Parents' Death Over $31k Loan Forgery Given 50 Years In Prison. He notedthat there were no lights on Brockley Street, where the Porcos lived, castingsome doubt on aneighbors account of spotting Christophers yellow Jeep in the driveway the night of the ax attack. In this July 10, 2006 file photo, Christopher Porco, right, and his attorneys Terence Kindlon, left, and Laurie Shanks, center, are shown during his trial in the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen, N.Y. But prosecutors said outside court they intend to call a telephone company official to the stand to refute the assertion that they had visited the house in September or that the line had been mysteriously cut then. On 15 November 2004, Joan and Peter Porco had been found seemingly murdered. Those who were reported to have testified in the closed-session hearing included Porco's friends from college, a university campus safety officer, and a former girlfriend. November 15, 2004 Delmar, New York Peter and Joan Porco are found after being bludgeoned with an axe as they sleep Peter Porco was discovered dead from massive blunt head trauma at his front door.