The Murder of Allyzibeth ‘Ally’ LaMont
For this case, I watched an episode of People Magazine Investigates. It’s season 6 episode 9, titled ‘Gone in the Night.’
A 22-year-old woman disappears after leaving her job at a local deli.
Background
Allyizbeth, or Ally, as she will referred as, was raised in the small town of Gloversville, New York. She had a very tight knit family, close friends, and a new boyfriend. She had also started working at a local deli called the Local 9, just a few months before she disappeared.
Ally was described as vivacious and down to earth.
Allyzibeth ‘Ally’ LaMont
The Disappearance
On October 29, 2019, Ally’s sister contacted the Gloversville police. She asked the police if they had any phone calls or interactions with her sister because Ally hadn't been seen or heard from since October 28. The police said no, but they would look into it.
About an hour later, the police received another phone call about Ally. This time, her friend and roommate, Jennie contacted them. Jennie filed a missing persons report, and met with an officer named Chad Simonson.
Jennie told Officer Simonson that she had driven to the Local 9 deli on October 28, to give Ally a phone charger. Jennie texted her later, and asked if she would need a ride home from work, but Ally never responded.
Local 9 Deli in Johnstown, New York
On October 29, Jennie went to the deli, and asked the manager if he had seen Ally. He said no, and that Ally wasn’t scheduled to work that day.
Officer Simonson also learned from Ally’s new boyfriend, William, that he also hadn’t heard from Ally. William had gone out to search for Ally, but no one could find her.
A BOLO (be on the lookout) was put out for Ally. Officer Simonson said he just had a gut feeling that this wasn’t a typical missing persons case.
Persons of Interest
On October 30, the police spoke to Jennie again. They learned that Ally had dated a man named Tyler for about 4 years, and that they had some domestic issues. When the police went to speak to Tyler, he wasn’t there.
While the police were waiting to hear from Tyler, they went to the Local 9 to speak with the manager. There was a sign on the door at the deli that said 'under renovations,’ despite it being still open for business.
When the police arrived, there were two employees in the back of the restaurant. One of the employees was the girlfriend of the manager, James Duffy. James’ girlfriend said he wasn’t working that day, but had closed on October 28, the day Ally went missing. She said James would be in the next morning at 10m. She provided the police with James’ phone number, as well as a phone number for Georgios Kakavelos, the owner. Both Georgios and James didn’t answer when the police called.
The New York State police was called in to assist with the investigation. Ally’s friends and family were posting information all over social media, and putting up missing persons flyers in their small town.
Tyler eventually contacted the police. He admitted that he and Ally had domestic issues. He said they broke up when Ally showed up at his apartment very angry, and accusing him of cheating on her. Tyler said Ally did have injuries to her because he had to restrain her. Tyler said he blocked Ally’s phone number and on social media, and hadn’t seen her since. Tyler was eventually cleared as a suspect.
The Deli
When the police went back to the deli, they were able to speak to both James and Georgios. James was often there more than Georgios was, but James described himself as an alcoholic and drug addict.
The police asked Georgios if he had seen Ally on October 28. He said yes, she had asked him for $500, and left work early. Ally had been planning to move out of Jennie’s house, and into an apartment of her own. Georgios had written a note that he lent Ally money, and that she’d pay him back.
Georgios agreed to let the police search the deli. It was a mess. Georgios said they had an incident with the soda machine, and were redoing the kitchen. The two men were then interviewed further at the police station. James was no help due to him being very intoxicated.
Georgios told the police that he was concerned for Ally, and tried to help her. He said he knew that Ally had been abused, and claimed that she told him that she wanted to commit suicide.
The police asked Georgios if James would’ve done anything to hurt Ally. Georgios said he didn’t think James “had the balls to do something like this.” Georgios was asked if he and James had been in contact after Ally disappeared. Georgios agreed to let them look at his phone, but he became very concerned about what they would find. The police did take note that James and Georgios had a 36 minute phone call in the days after Ally went missing.
Both men were allowed to leave the police station.
The Confession
On October 31, the police made an unannounced visit to James’ house. He had sobered up, and agreed to go to the station.
James told the police that he “just wanted his friend back.” He also said Ally was a good worker, and would be hard to replace. The police confronted James, and told him that they believed he was hiding something. James then let out an evil laugh, and his behavior changed. He told the police, “you don’t even know, you really don’t.”
James said Georgios had come up with a plan. He said he thought Ally was going to report him for fraud, and was going to ruin his life. James said that Georgios had paid him $500 to do all kinds of drugs to have the courage to kill Ally.
James said Ally had been told to do the dishes and empty the soda syrup bags in the back sink. James said he went up behind Ally, and hit her in the head with a bat. James said Georgios came in, and choked Ally by putting a bag over her head. James said Georgios told him to grab a sledge hammer. They both hit Ally in the head, and choked her again because she was still twitching.
Georgios and James had poured the soda syrup all over the floor, so that they could clean up the blood along with it. They had to get more cleaning supplies, so Georgios went to Walmart, where he also purchased a candy bar and magazine.
They put Ally’s body in the back of Georgios’ Volkswagen, and put her in a grave near the highway in Malta. James said he was very drunk that night, but Georgios kept throwing money at him to dig the grave. They used fertilizer and vegetation to cover her up. They then drove all over discarding other items, including clean supplies and the baseball bat.
James agreed to drive with the police to show them where they discarded the evidence. The baseball bat was found in a pond, and a garbage bag of cleaning supplies was found just a few miles on the same road.
A drone and cadaver dogs eventually recovered Ally’s body. James Duffy was arrested. Georgios was also arrested at the police station after the police talked to him again.
The Convictions
James Duffy was asked to testify against Georgios. He didn’t want to at first, but eventually agreed. He would plead guilty to second degree murder, and received a sentence of 18 years to life.
On May 12, 2021, Georgios Kakavelos went on trial.
The prosecution said that Georgios was over $700,000 in debt. On September 10, 2019, an investigator from the Department of Labor had made a unannounced visit to the deli. Ally and another employee were there, and admitted that Georgios wasn’t paying them what they were owed. Over the next few weeks, Georgios was receiving letters from the Department of Labor, where they asked to see his payroll records.
Georgios’ defense blamed everything on James. Georgios even testified on his own behalf. He claimed he walked in on James killing Ally, and was under duress when he helped James clean and dispose of evidence. The Walmart surveillance footage of Georgios buying cleaning supplies, candy and a magazine, said otherwise.
James testified about their planning of killing Ally, creating a plan to clean up the deli, and about where they drove around to dispose of evidence.
On June 17, 2021, Georgios was convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
At Georgios’ sentencing, Ally’s mom, Christa said:
“I and her father will always be forever devastated and enraged by the fact that when our daughter was fighting for her life and took her last breath, you were with her.”
Georgios and James
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s clear that both James and Georgios are evil. Georgios is also greedy, and cares more about money then someone’s life. James was manipulated by Georgios, but he also agreed to taking drugs, and taking a life. They both said they cared about Ally, but this was obviously not true. Ally deserves to be here today, and my heart truly breaks for her family.
Sources
https://people.com/crime/allyzibeth-lamont-brutal-murder-people-magazine-investigates/
