The Murder of John Cataneo
For this case, I watched an episode of Stolen Voices, Buried Secrets. It’s season 1 episode 11, titled ‘Sudden Death.’
A loving father and husband is killed on his front doorstep.
Background
John Cataneo grew up in a very large Italian family. He moved to Holly Hills, Florida to be with a woman he had met named Karen Tobie.
Karen was a bit different than other women that John had been with, but John’s family was happy for him. John had always wanted to be a father and a husband. He and Karen eventually got married and had one son together. John owned his own plumbing business in the area.
John Cataneo
John and Karen
The Murder
On June 30, 2004, John was at home with his mom, Phyllis, and wife, Karen. John had fallen asleep on the chair in the living room.
Phyllis heard a knock on the door and asked who it was. Phyllis would later tell the police that it sounded like the person said their name was Ron or Don.
John walked outside and closed the door behind him. Phyllis said she heard what sounded like 3 or 4 firecrackers. John had been shot on his doorstep. Phyllis called 911 and said that John had been shot and there was blood everywhere.
John was pronounced dead at the scene. He was only 45 years old.
The Investigation
The police found three .22 caliber shell casings at the scene.
Phyllis told the police that John had walked outside and closed the front door behind him. It was believed that John had known his killer.
One of John and Karen’s friends and neighbors, Lynn Blake had arrived at the home after John was shot. Lynn had an ex-husband named Ron. Ron was interviewed, but he had been at work at the time of the murder. He was ruled out.
John and Karen’s marriage wasn’t perfect. His sister said John had been trying to fix Karen. Karen enjoyed drinking. The police could tell due to her substance abuse issues that she wasn’t going to be much help with the investigation. Karen didn’t want anything to do with John’s family after the murder.
The Business
John owned his own plumbing contractor business. He had recently fired one of his employees for stealing from one of John’s accounts. The ex-employee had apparently been threatening John after he was fired. The employee denied being involved in John’s murder. He was eventually ruled out.
Another police agency contacted the Holly Hill Police to tell them about a domestic violence call that they had responded to. The victim had alleged that her boyfriend, Tysjohaun ‘Ty’ Cooper had killed his boss in Holly Hill. Ty had also known that his boss had been shot.
Ty’s girlfriend told the police that she had gone to the mall with Ty and that he had received an envelope with $2,700 in it. She also had overheard a phone conversation and had overheard John Cataneo’s name being mentioned.
Ty had a violent criminal history. He was brought in for an interview. He denied shooting John. A search warrant was obtained for his house. The police hoped that they would find the murder weapon. They didn’t, but they did find a .22 caliber bullet and shell casing in the backyard. The bullet and casing were sent to the crime lab for testing.
The Murder Plot
The police believed that Ty was involved, but that he hadn’t worked alone.
The police interviewed Lynn. Lynn had been like a part of John and Karen’s family. She worked as John’s office manager and had taken care of their son.
The police told Lynn that they were close to arresting Ty for John’s murder. Lynn appeared very nervous during the interview. She claimed to not have any knowledge about the murder or about Ty being involved. The interview ended after that.
After she left the station, Lynn contacted the police. She had wanted to get something off her chest. She was brought back to the station. Lynn admitted to having a hand in planning John’s murder. She said she, Karen, and Ty were all involved.
Lynn said that she and Karen had obtained the gun from Ty. They went to the mall and Lynn gave Ty the money in exchange for the gun. They test-fired the gun and met with Ty again because they were having problems with the gun. Ty told them that he would take care of it.
Karen told Ty that he needed to kill John soon because they had a family vacation coming up.
The Convictions
Lynn agreed to work with the police. She wore a wire to talk to Karen. Karen was very paranoid but said the police didn’t have anything on them.
The ballistics test came back. The shell casings found at the murder scene were a match to the casing and bullet found in Ty’s yard.
Ty admitted that he had gotten paid in exchange for the gun. But, he denied being involved in the actual shooting.
Ty, Karen, and Lynn were all arrested.
Ty and Karen were tried together. Lynn testified against them. The motive was John’s $500,000 life insurance policy. Karen was also scared that John was going to leave her and take their son. According to his family, John had no plans to leave her and wanted to make the marriage work.
Karen Tobie is serving a life sentence. Ty Cooper is serving a 25-year sentence for manslaughter. Lynn Blake pled guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a 7 1/2-year sentence.
John and Karen’s son was raised by John’s relatives.
Karen Tobie
Ty Cooper
Lynn Blake at trial
FINAL THOUGHTS
The prosecution in this case said it best, just because someone has an alcohol and drug problem doesn’t mean they will commit or plan a murder. Karen may have had severe issues, but she still was coherent enough to plot the murder of her husband. John deserved to watch his son grow up, but instead, he was killed over money.
Sources
https://murderpedia.org/female.T/t/tobie-karen.htm
https://www.courttv.com/trials/fl-v-tobie-cooper-2007/
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/10/10/police-woman-hired-hit-man-to-kill-her-husband/
