The Murder of Susan Ambrosino

For this case I watched an episode of Blood Relatives. It’s season 6 episode 6, titled ‘Brothers in Arms.’

Family secrets are exposed after a young pregnant woman is killed.

Background

Susan Ambrosino lived on Long Island with her husband Keith, and their daughter Taylor. Susan was described as a great mom, loving, caring and had good energy.

Sibling Rivalry

Susan’s husband Keith was an Army Private in the U.S. Army, and shortly before Susan died he was deployed to Hungary. Susan was heartbroken about this, but Keith told her that his brother Steven Schiovane, Steve’s girlfriend Kim, and her brother Tim would keep an eye on her and Taylor.

Keith was originally supposed to be gone for several months to a year, but he was discharged just a few months later due to a back injury. Keith was excited to be back, but things would never go back to normal.

Steven was also at the house, and once he said that his daughter even called him uncle Steven instead of dad. Keith tried asking Steven to stop coming around so much, but Steven refused. Susan took Steven’s side, and this destroyed their marriage, as well as Keith and Steven’s relationship.

The Murder

A few weeks after these relationships ended, Susan’s brother Anthony went to the police to report his sister missing. He tried contacting several people, but no one had seen her.

Soon after she was reported missing, her purse was found by a good samaritan in Jamaica, Queens. The police created a grid search to find Susan’s missing car, a Nissan Altima. It was found just two blocks away on E. 182nd Street.

The police opened the trunk, and discovered Susan’s body. This was on February 25, 2005, she had been killed the previous night. She had blood around her face, head and in her hair. She had been shot once at close range behind her ear.

The police searched the front seat of the car, and it was revealed that Susan had been sitting in the passenger seat when she was killed. The killer had covered the blood with a sweatshirt. There was no murder weapon or shell casings found at the scene.

Susan’s family found out about her death from the news.

Family Secrets

The police interviewed Keith as his home. Keith told them that at the time of the murder, he had been getting ready for bed when he received a call from Susan. He said Susan was crying, and told him that she needed to tell him something. He asked her to tell him, but she said she wanted to meet in person. He agreed, but she never called him or came over to meet.

When Susan’s autopsy was performed, the police discovered that she was 3-4 months pregnant. They wanted to speak to Susan’s family to see if they knew who the father was.

The police did learn who the father was when they questioned Anthony. He said Susan told him that the father was Steven. Steven and Susan had started a relationship while Keith was deployed. He had pretty much taken Keith’s place as the significant other and father figure to Taylor.

Keith was already angry about his relationship ending, the police wondered if he killed Susan because she wanted to tell him the truth. Anthony dropped one more bombshell: Susan had also planned to meet with Steven on the night she died.

A Cover Story

The police went to Steven’s house where he lived with his girlfriend Kim. Steven wasn’t home, but Kim was. The police asked Kim where Steven was at the time of the murder, and she said he had been with her brother Tim.

Tim was at the home, and confirmed this. He said they had been watching TV, and that Steven left around 9pm. The police asked Kim if she knew about Steven’s relationship with Susan. She said she did, and that their relationship ended because of it. However, they decided to still live together because they were about to have a child together.

The police didn’t really believe either one of them, but they had no evidence to prove otherwise.

The Truth Comes Out

The police obtained Steven and Tim’s cell phone records. They discovered that the two had not been together because there were several phone calls between them. Steven’s phone put him in Jamaica, Queens during the murder.

Tim was brought into the station, and they confronted him. Tim cracked almost right away, and said that Steven called him that night, and said he was on Jamaica Ave., and needed a ride. Tim drove to pick him up, and that Steven confessed that he did something stupid. Steven had also asked Tim to get rid of his gun. It was a .380, the same caliber gun used to kill Susan. Tim also told the police that Steven asked him to tell anyone who asked that they were together that night, and that he left around 9pm.

Tim agreed, but didn’t get rid of the gun, and told them where it was. Tim was also ruled out, he had been at a local diner with his family. Keith was also ruled out.

Arrest and Conviction

The police believed that Susan went to meet Steven that night, and that he drove them out to Queens. They believe Steven and Susan got into a confrontation about the baby, and about her telling Keith. He had wanted her to get an abortion, and he killed her when she refused. He then put her in the trunk, dropped her purse and called Tim to pick him up.

One week later, Steven was arrested and took a plea deal. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Other

Susan’s family often host a Remembrance Baby Shower in honor of Susan. People can donate baby items or money.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I saw this a lot in my blog posts, but my heart broke for this family. Susan’s dad and brother both broke down in the episode, and you could tell they loved Susan with their whole heart. She didn’t deserve to die, especially when she was about to become a mother again. I also feel bad for Keith because he lost his ex-wife and brother, but he said he can’t forgive Steven for taking a mother away from their child.

I also don’t know if the names of Steven’s girlfriend and her brother are accurate, this is what they were referred to as in the episode.

Sources

https://www.liherald.com/stories/remembering-susan,38995

https://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-man-kills-brothers-ex-wife-to-keep-secret/9710/

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/killer-icy-plea-article-1.211170

https://www.liherald.com/stories/a-family-carries-on-after-tragedy,88458