The Murders of Joanne and Alyssa Presti
I decided for my next few posts that I’m going to cover one series. The series is American Nightmare on Discovery+ and it only has one season with six episodes. So, I covered episode 1 yesterday with the murder of Rebecca Payne. This case is episode 2, titled ‘Too Close to Home.’
Warning, this case involves sexual assault and crimes against children.
Background
Alyssa and Joanne
Joanne Presti was a single mom of three. She had two sons, Justin and John and a daughter Alyssa. They lived in Woburn, Massachusetts, where the Boston accents are thick.
Joanne was described as being a very protective mom, always wanting to be outside with her kids and socializing every chance she got. The Presti’s were a very large Italian family, and in this episode there were quite a few home videos shown on the loving family.
Alyssa was only 12 years old when she died. Her grandma and Joanne’s mom, Annette, described Alyssa as being “her light,” as she was her only granddaughter. Alyssa would also help her mom with her siblings and was very responsible for her age.
The Double Murder
On January 7, 2004, a 911 call came into the Woburn police department. It was from Annette, Joanne’s mom, she said she found her daughter dead.
The police arrived at the case soon after. Inside the home, the kitchen didn’t show any sign of a struggle. They then got into the living room, where they found 34 year old Joanne. Joanne was found naked from the waist down, she had been beaten and stabbed. She had also been restrained with duct tape. Her underwear was found on the ground next to the couch, and the police believed Joanne was sexually assaulted.
The police then went upstairs to the second floor, and that’s where they found Alyssa. She was found laying on the floor in her bedroom, and her throat had been slit. Alyssa’s room showed signs of a struggle, like she had fought her attacker. There was blood on the mattress, on the wall and drawers were pulled out on Alyssa’s vanity. The sheets on her bed were also missing and her duvet was rolled into a ball.
The police also entered one more bedroom, it was the room of 2 1/2 year old John. He was found alive, but very dehydrated. His fingers were white from him sucking on them and his diaper was very soiled, like he had been in there for several days. He was taken to the hospital and was perfectly fine. The police determined that the killer had closed the bedroom door so that the baby couldn’t hear what was happening to his mom and sister.
Investigation
The police now had to look around the house for any evidence and DNA the killer may have left behind.
The police ruled out robbery as being the motive. They found money and a role of film on Joanne’s desk in the house.
Next, the police wanted to ask Joanne’s neighbors if they had heard or seen anything. They claimed they didn’t. There next option was to look through Joanne’s past relationships to see if the motive was an angry boyfriend or ex.
Meanwhile, the autopsy came back and it was determined that Joanne was in fact sexually assaulted. The medical examiner also found semen on Joanne. It was determined that Alyssa wasn’t sexually assaulted, but she did fight back so she had the killer’s DNA under her fingernails.
Suspects
Just like in my last post, the police had to go through multiple suspects until they found the real killer.
The first suspect was A.J. Patel, the Presti’s neighbor and landlord. He told the police that he didn’t hear anything that night, despite the home being a duplex. The police found it really odd, but what was more odd was A.J. was the last person to talk to Joanne. They had talked on the phone around 10pm on the night she was killed, and it only lasted a few minutes.
The police thought it was weird that Joanne was talking to her landlord that late at night. Until A.J. told them he and Joanne had met up a few times in A.J.’s house, while A.J.’s wife was sleeping. He also had given Joanne money a few times. The show didn’t really specify what kind of relationship they had, but I’m guessing it was more than friends.
A.J. agreed to giving the police his DNA and letting them search his house. The police took glasses that Joanne and A.J. had drank from, as well as a role of duct tape. A.J.’s DNA eventually came back and it was not a match to the crime scene, he was ruled out.
The next suspect was Joanne’s ex and the father of baby John, a man named Todd Peters. Joanne had told friends that she was deathly afraid of Todd at the time she died. Todd had been violent in the past, even hurting Joanne while she was pregnant, but he denied killing her.
He also consented to giving his DNA, it didn’t match the crime scene, and he too was ruled out.
The next suspect was a “local celebrity” in Woburn. A man named John Cummings played in the NHL (National Hockey League) for 10 years. He had gotten a career ending injury, and it made him drink. He was also the father of Alyssa, but had only met her once and stopped paying his child support.
A witness also came forward that said John wasn’t too far from the Presti home on the night of the murder, he had been at a local bar that was just down the street. However, his DNA also didn’t match the crime scene.
The Real Killer Emerges
The police had to go back over their evidence from the crime scene to figure out who the real killer was.
They decided they might have answers if they developed the role of film, that was found in Joanne’s desk. When the film was developed, they realized it was pictures of a birthday party. While they were looking through the pictures, another officer recognized one of the men in the pictures.
The man was named Michael Bizanowicz, he was also a level 3 sex offender. He raped a young boy and had spent time in jail for it.
Michael Bizanowicz
The police wanted to go and interview Michael. Michael was living with his girlfriend, Barbara James, in Joanne’s neighborhood at the time they were murdered. Joanne had also befriended Barbara when she moved in.
Detective Michael Pandolph with the Woburn PD, said when they went to interview Michael he was nervous and shaky, and could barely light his cigarette.
Michael was asked if he knew Joanne and if they had a relationship or if he’d ever been in her apartment. He said he had only once for that birthday party, and that he and Joanne didn’t have a relationship. He was also asked where he was at the time of the murder. He said he and Barbara had been fighting that night, so he left and they were on the phone. Barbara denied they were on the phone all night, she said they had stopped talking around 11pm.
Michael also consented to a DNA sample. Michael’s DNA was a match to the semen and the DNA under Alyssa’s nails. There was also rope found in his truck, the rope matched fibers on Joanne’s body, and a suicide note he had written to his daughter.
Arrest and Conviction
Michael was arrested and charged with two murders, as well as the sexual assault of Joanne.
Michael said he was innocent, and the case went to trial.
He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole. He tried to appeal his case, but his life sentence was upheld in 2011.
Other
The laws have now been changed in Massachusetts, to keep better track of sex offenders in the area and requiring offenders to update their addresses.
Annette Presti, Joanne’s mom and Alyssa’s grandma
Another photo of Alyssa and Joanne
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case is terrible, as they all are. This sick monster came into this family’s house, a family he had only met once and violated them. He also left a sweet, innocent baby alone in a house for days without food or water. The baby could have died as well, and luckily he didn't. I hope baby John, who’s probably not a baby anymore is doing well, or doing as best as he can.
Michael Bizanowicz doesn’t deserve to ever see the light of day again. I heard sex offenders have the worst time in prison, so hopefully he’s having a really horrible time and rotting.
Sources
https://www.masslive.com/news/2011/04/conviction_of_child_rapist_mic.html
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20040117/news/301179986
