Fatal Embrace. The Inside Story Of The Thomas Capano/Anne Marie Fahey Murder Case

432 Pages·2014·1.4 MB·English

by  Cris Barrish

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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue: A Strange Discovery
Book One: Annie
1. Missing
2. A Jealous Maniac
3. Searching for Annie
4. Falling Too Hard
Book Two: Tom
5. Crazy for You
6. Eye of the Storm
7. A Dangerous Dance
8. A Cold Summer Wind
9. Business as Usual
Book Three: Colm
10. Chasing the Spin
11. Tom Turned Inside Out
12. Be a Man
13. One Hell of a Burden
14. Stripped of Privilege
Book Four: Justice
15. Bail Denied
16. A Liar, a Junkie, a Stone-cold Bum
17. To Tell the Truth
18. The Greater Evil
Book Five: The End
19. A Verdict
20. A Malignant Force
Epilogue
Update: 2007
Copyright
To the memory of
Anne Marie Sinead Fahey
Acknowledgments
I am indebted to dozens of people for their assistance, counsel, and support over
the last three years while I was reporting this story as a staff writer for the
Wilmington News Journal and writing this book with Peter Meyer.
At my newspaper I had the pleasure of collaborating with three fine reporters
who at various times served as partners on the story—Terry Spencer, Valerie
Helmbreck, and, especially, Jerry Hager. I want to also thank John Mura, the
editor who initially assigned me to investigate the mystery of Anne Marie
Fahey’s disappearance, in July of 1996, and who provided immeasurable
inspiration and guidance; and his fellow editors Al Mascitti, E. J. Mitchell, and
Merritt Wallick.
I would like to express my great appreciation to members of the Fahey
family—especially Robert, Kathleen, Brian, Mark, and Kevin, all of whom were
gracious and accommodating, despite the loss of their sister, throughout this long
ordeal.
I also appreciate the help of former assistant U.S. attorney Colm Connolly,
the man most responsible for bringing Tom Capano to justice, who gave freely
of his time and insight. Also, this project would not have been possible without
the help of prosecutor Ferris Wharton; FBI agents Eric Alpert and Tim Munson;
Wilmington police detective Bob Donovan; Delaware state trooper Mark
Daniels; IRS agent Ron Poplos; Gov. Tom Carper; Delaware secretary of state
Ed Freel; gubernatorial chief of staff Jeff Bullock; Superior Court judge William
Swain Lee; Annie’s friends Kim Horstmann, Jackie Steinhoff, and Beth Barnes;
former Wilmington mayors Bill McLaughlin and Tom Maloney; attorneys David
Weiss, Dan Lyons, Katie Recker, Tom Bergstrom, Joseph Oteri, Mike Modica,
Charles Butler, and Joe diGenova; juror Erin Reilly; and Ken Chubb, Ron Smith,
Bud Freel, Kevin Freel, Michael Scanlan, Shaw Taylor, Kristi Pepper, Joe
Smagala, Brian Murphy, Mike Harkins, Robert Long, Theresa Jordan, Heather
Brand, Donna Rizzo, Loretta Farkas, Carol Vannicola, Kathi Carlozzi, Warren
Trent, CynDee Royle, Natasha Lebedeva, and a host of sources who choose to
remain anonymous. I owe you all.
Last, special thanks to Peter Meyer, a writer of immense talent who brought
me on to his project; and to my lovely wife, Mary, and our precious little boy,
Luke, for tolerating me while I spent fourteen hours a day shackled to a
computer screen.
June 7, 1999
Cris Barrish
I recall my amazement, surveying the crowd outside Courtroom 302 on the first
day of Thomas Capano’s murder trial, when I realized that this book was,
literally, standing in front of me. Friends and family of the accused, friends and
family of the victim, witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys, reporters,
members of the general public—everyone was there. The nearness—my jaw
dropped when I saw several jurors follow Tom Capano’s mother and two of his
daughters off the elevator—was a reminder of the complexity of this case. And I
knew that I would need a guide through the crowd, someone who knew the
players and the playing field, someone who could appreciate and explain the
volatile yet subtle relationships that were, at bottom, what this story was all
about.
That’s when, as if he had sprung from my musings, I noticed a man, legal
pad cradled in his right arm, weaving through the crowd. He would stop to talk
briefly with a Fahey family member or a relative of Tom Capano, scribbling on
his pad as he went. Clearly, he was a reporter; but unlike the journalists who
stood in a group chatting with one another beside the metal detector at the
courtroom door, this guy was working. Whoever he was, I knew immediately
that he was Sherpa material.
It turned out better than I could have imagined. Cris Barrish, a writer for the
Wilmington News Journal, had been covering the case almost from the day that
Anne Marie Fahey was first reported missing. And as I would come to learn,
after we decided to collaborate on this book, Cris knew the people of this story
better than anyone else did, not by luck but through hard and constant work. I
also discovered that he was possessed of the endurance of a marathoner, an
obdurate and ferocious respect for facts, and an exhilarating curiosity—the Holy
Trinity of journalism. Best of all, especially for a project like this, he could write
like prairie fire. I am grateful to have met Cris and am especially thankful to him
for carrying me across the finish line.
I must also express my sincere thanks to Charles Spicer, our editor, for his
encouragement, patience, and good cheer in helping bring this book into being.
June 7, 1999