The Murder of Maggie Locascio

For this case I watched an episode of Blood Relatives. It’s season 3 episode 9, titled ‘He Said, She’s Dead.’

A 45 year old mother is killed in the affluent community of Coral Gables, Florida.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a picture of Maggie Locascio.

Background

Maggie Locascio was 45 years old at the time of her death. She had been married to her husband Ed Locascio Sr., for 28 years. Maggie and Ed had a son named Eddie, who was 19 at the time.

Maggie was described as beautiful, smart and driven. She had her master’s degree, and worked as an accountant for awhile, until becoming a stay at home mom.

A Broken Marriage

Shortly before her death, Maggie became suspicious that Ed may have been cheating on her. She hired a private investigator, and her instincts were right. Ed had met a 20 year woman, who worked as a masseuse.

Maggie was furious, and she confronted Ed with the information. She told Ed to leave their beautiful home, and that she wanted a divorce. Ed seemed okay with it, and he moved into a condo in Miami South Beach.

After the separation, Ed paraded his new girlfriend around, and would make comments that he wasn’t going to give Maggie a penny in the divorce. Maggie refused to be humiliated, but she was angry.

The Murder

On October 30, 2001, the police arrived at the Locascio home on Granada Boulevard. The alarm system had gone off, but the police noticed that the door was slightly opened. They walked through the home, and came upon a terrifying scene.

On the kitchen floor, they found the body of a woman that they recognized as Maggie Locascio. The Miami Dade Homicide Bureau was called in.

Maggie had been beaten and stabbed many times. She had also fought her attacker. She had defensive wounds, and one of her fingers was almost severed. When that didn’t kill Maggie, the killer also stomped on her chest to make sure she was dead.

The police searched the rest of the home. In the hallway, they found a bloody metal baton. The baton looked like something a police officer carried. A latex glove was also found.

At first glance, it looked like a robbery gone wrong, Maggie’s purse was even missing. However, the police thought that the murder seemed more personal. Someone wanted Maggie dead, and they had a few suspects in mind.

The Suspects

The first person that the police wanted to question was Eddie, and he became more suspicious when he showed up at the scene. They asked him to come down to the police station.

The police asked Eddie where he was at the time of the murder. He said he had been at school, working with a biology professor in the lab. Eddie also said that he wasn’t surprised that his mom was dead, and that “the bastard finally did it.” He was speaking about his dad, who he called an emotional bully.

The police took a sample of Eddie’s DNA and fingerprints. He was free to leave, but as he was leaving the station he ran into his dad. The police had also brought Ed Sr., in for questioning. The police said it was uncomfortable, and that Eddie walked right past his dad without saying a single word.

The police asked Ed the same questions about his whereabouts that night. Ed said he had been at his condo. He was open about their divorce, but that he didn’t kill Maggie.

The police were surprised when Ed pointed the finger at his son. The police took Ed’s DNA and fingerprints, and told him he was free to leave. The police were suspicious, but they didn’t have any proof.

The Bag of Evidence

The following day, the police spoke to several neighbors about whether or not they saw anything. One neighbor told the police that he saw a suspicious white van driving around the night before. He said the driver was driving away from the Locascio home.

A second neighbor, who lived two blocks away, said they saw the driver of a white van throw a duffel bag out the window. Sure enough, a duffel bag was found in some bushes. Inside the bag was a latex glove, a knife, bloody clothes and Maggie’s credit cards. The police took the evidence in for testing.

The Black Sheep

When the DNA finally came back, the police were stunned. It didn’t match either Eddie or Ed Sr.,

It wasn’t until a former secretary of Ed’s came forward, and said that she heard a phone conversation between Ed and another person. She said that the conversation involved Maggie, and Ed’s brother Michael. Michael was the black sheep of the family, and would always appear when he needed money.

The police went to Michael’s to question him, and were shocked when they saw that he owned a white van. The cab of the van had been stripped, the seats were removed, and the car had just been washed. The police asked Michael to come in for questioning.

Michael lied to the police right off the bat. He first said he wasn’t even in Florida at the time of the murder, then he said he was but that he was at a restaurant in Miami Beach. The police obtained a warrant for Michael’s DNA and fingerprints.

It didn’t take long to get a match. Michael’s DNA was found in the latex glove, on the knife and on Maggie’s credit cards. Michael was arrested for murder, but the police knew that this wasn’t the end of it. Michael didn’t really have a motive to kill Maggie, but they kept digging to try to make sense of what really happened.

A Murderous Plot

The police obtained Ed and Michael’s bank records. They discovered that Michael wasn’t being paid to kill Maggie, he was flat out broke. However, their phone records told a different.

Before the murder, Michael and Ed only spoke on holidays and birthdays. They lived too separate lives. In the weeks leading up to the murder, and after, they talked all the time. 39 times to be exact.

The police went over the surveillance footage from Ed’s condo. In the footage, they did see Ed and his girlfriend together. But, they also saw another familiar face. At 11:40pm, a soaking wet Michael showed up at Ed’s condo. He was shown on the outside camera, trying to get into the building.

The police believed that Maggie returned home that night, and had no idea what was about to happen. Michael hid in the garage, and entered the home after Maggie did. Maggie had started to cook dinner, and Michael surprised her. He brutally killed her and tried to clean up the evidence.

Michael made many mistakes during the murder. He left behind the glove and baton, tripped the alarm system and threw out evidence.

Convictions

Michael was found guilty of first degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Michael Locascio

Ed was brought to trial in 2005, and was also found guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ed Locascio

Ed is still pointing the finger at his son, even though he’s the one who clearly did this.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Michael is a piece of shit for killing someone he barely knew. Ed is a bigger piece of shit for wanting his wife killed and for saying that his son did it. I think Ed was so arrogant and cocky, and thought he would never be convicted. Well, his plan was not well thought out, and he will rot in prison forever.

Sources

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24200940

https://coralgablesthemagazine.com/murder-in-the-city-beautiful/

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1856897.html