Thomas Capano

Thomas Capano
Born Thomas Joseph Capano
(1949-10-11)October 11, 1949
Delaware
Died September 19, 2011(2011-09-19) (aged 61)
Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware
Occupation attorney, political consultant
Criminal charge Murder, 1 count
Criminal penalty Death, commuted to life imprisonment (without parole)
Criminal status Deceased

Thomas Joseph Capano (October 11, 1949 – September 19, 2011)[1][2] was a disbarred American lawyer and former Delaware deputy attorney general who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Anne Marie Fahey, his former lover.

Background

Capano was one of four brothers, and belonged to a prominent family of Delaware real estate developers and building contractors. He became a wealthy, well-connected lawyer, state prosecutor, Wilmington city attorney, legal counsel to Governor Michael N. Castle, and political consultant, well known in Delaware's political community. In 1994, Capano was a partner at the Wilmington office of Saul Ewing LLP when he became involved with 28-year-old Anne Marie Fahey, the appointments secretary to then-Governor Thomas R. Carper. Married with four daughters, Thomas Capano separated from his wife Kay the following year.[3]

Fahey's disappearance and investigation

Anne Marie Fahey, the scheduling secretary for Delaware's then-Governor Tom Carper, became involved with the married Capano in 1994. In September 1995, while still involved with Capano, Fahey began a relationship with Michael Scanlan.[4]

She was last seen alive on Thursday, June 27, 1996, when she went to dinner with Capano in Philadelphia. Fahey's family reported her missing on June 30, 1996. After an extensive investigation into her disappearance, the FBI joined in the investigation in July 1996, and a federal grand jury heard evidence for over a year.[4] Capano, the last known person to have seen her alive, was the primary suspect. Capano was arrested for her murder in November 1997, over sixteen months after her disappearance. However, Fahey's body was never found, and prosecutors were unable to establish the cause or manner of Fahey's death.

Prosecutors alleged that Capano murdered Fahey at the house he rented and, with the assistance of his brother, Gerry, dumped her body in the Atlantic Ocean. Gerry Capano owned a boat and, when it was sold, its two anchors were missing. On November 8, 1997, Gerry was interviewed by detectives and told them that Thomas had borrowed the boat and admitted that he had murdered someone who was attempting to extort him. They went to Stone Harbor, New Jersey, with a large cooler that contained Fahey's body, sailed 62 miles (100 km) out to sea, and pushed the cooler overboard. Gerry told police that Thomas shot the cooler in order to sink it, but that the cooler remained afloat in the water. Thomas then retrieved the cooler, removed the body, and wrapped the anchor chains around it. Thomas also asked Gerry to help dispose of a blood-stained sofa and carpet into a dumpster, which was managed by a third brother, Louis. Thomas instructed Louis to empty the dumpsters outside of their regular schedule. The empty cooler was found on July 4, 1996, by a local fisherman.[5]

Investigators did not have a murder weapon or a body, nor any evidence that Capano had purchased a gun. However, Capano's mistress Debby MacIntyre had bought a gun and, when questioned by investigators, admitted to supplying the weapon to Capano.[2]

Trial and appeals

The highly publicized case went to trial on October 6, 1998, and lasted 12 weeks.[6] The defense claimed that MacIntyre had burst into Capano's room and, as Capano and MacIntyre were wrestling for the gun, it fired, killing Fahey. On January 17, 1999, the jury convicted Capano of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

In January 2006, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed Capano's conviction but remanded the case for sentencing because the death penalty was imposed by a non-unanimous jury verdict. In February of that year, the state abandoned its efforts to seek capital punishment, opting to leave Capano imprisoned for life without parole. In April 2008, the U.S. District Court rejected Capano's habeas corpus petition,[7] and on September 2, 2008, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. Capano did not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, bringing an end to his appeals.[8]

Death

Capano, aged 61, was found dead in his jail cell at 12:34 p.m. on September 19, 2011 by an officer performing a routine security check at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center state prison near Smyrna, Delaware.[1][2] The medical examiner said Capano died of sudden cardiac arrest. He also had "atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and that obesity was a contributing factor in his death".[9] Following his death, his brothers Louis and Joseph engaged in a bitter court fight over their family's multi-million dollar real estate empire.[10]

Portrayals

Several books were written about the case including And Never Let Her Go: Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer by Ann Rule, The Summer Wind: Thomas Capano and the Murder of Anne Marie Fahey by George Anastasia, and Fatal Embrace: The Inside Story of the Thomas Capano/Anne Marie Fahey Murder Case by Chris Barrish and Peter Meyer. A 2000 documentary "The FBI Files", featured the case. In 2001, a television movie based on Rule's book was made, And Never Let Her Go, starring Mark Harmon as Capano and Kathryn Morris as Fahey. The Anne Marie Fahey murder case was featured on the July 22, 2002 episode of the CBS News documentary program 48 Hours. In 2012 the story was featured on Behind Mansion Walls. The case was portrayed in Law and Order season 11 in an episode titled "Ego". The case was also portrayed in the Season 1, Third Episode of the NBC series Boomtown (Oct. 13, 2002).

References

  1. 1 2 Barrish, Chris (September 19, 2011). "Tom Capano found dead in prison cell". Delaware Online.
  2. 1 2 3 Barrish, Chris (September 20, 2011). "Thomas Capano found dead in prison cell". Delaware Online. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011.
  3. ↑ Time magazine, November 24, 1997. p. 25
  4. 1 2 Capano v. State, 781 A.2d 556, 582, 2001 WL 980939 (Del. 2001).
  5. ↑ Meyer, Peter. Fatal Embrace: The Inside Story Of The Thomas Capano/Anne Marie Fahey Murder Case, St. Martin's True Crime (January 2, 2007), p. 1
  6. ↑ Katherine Ramsland. "The Rise and Fall of Thomas Capano". crimelibrary.com.
  7. ↑ Capano v. Carroll, No. 06-58 (Denial of petition filed April 15, 2008)
  8. ↑ "". ABC News.
  9. ↑ "Examiner: Capano died of sudden cardiac arrest". The Star Democrat. September 22, 2011
  10. ↑ Maureen Milford (2013-07-21). "Capano brothers clash over Delaware family's real estate empire". delmarvanow.com.
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