Though he claimed he never left campus, surveillance video discredited this alibi as Christopher's yellow Jeep was seen driving in the direction of his parents' home hours before the murder. As she testified Monday at Christopher's murder trial, Joan Porco said the statement was out of character, but she was angry. Even so, Christopher Porco was convicted and handed a 50-year sentence, per All Spectrum News. He got 50 years to life and is at theClinton Correction Facility inDannemora, New York. "No," she said of her ability to remember what happened. He used eBay to sell computer equipmentstolen from his parents anda veterinary hospital where he worked part time. inviting readers to weigh in on Christopher Porcos guilt or innocence, brief to the New York State Court of Appeals, The Lindbergh Kidnapping: Forensic Files Lost Episode, Dawn Fehring: A Missionary Dies Too Young, Joanne Chambers and Paula Nawrocki: Strange Lesson. Like her husband, she had been hit with an ax, but only three times. She suffered disfiguring injuries to her head and face, including the loss of an eye, and slight damage to her brain. I mean, youll only load it once, but, better than never!/s. Still, therewere noeyewitnesses placing Christopher directly at the crime scene inside the house. Joan Porco, Voorheesville, appellant pro se. Peter Porco is laying on the landing to the stairway going upstairs. I'd never heard that. According to All That's Interesting, Christopher was 21 and a student at the University of Rochester. Porco, 23, is charged with the Nov. 15, 2004, attack that killed his father, law clerk Peter Porco, 52, and left Joan with disfigurement and partial blindness. Christopher Porco's distinctive yellow Jeep was a crucial part of the prosecution's case. Defense Attorneys Shanks and Terence Kindlon are trying to poke holes in that theory. You can contact us at 518.439.4949. He stumbled through the house before he collapsed in his foyer and died. [13], Porco's employer, veterinarian John Kearney, testified at trial that Porco had been trained in cleaning up after animal surgeries. "[14] The email concluded: "We may be disappointed with you, but your mother and I still love you and care about your future. He has been a journalist since 1995 and the Times Union has been his home since 2002. Joan and Peter Porco, who died from his injuries, were found on Nov. 15, 2004, setting in motion an intensive 21-month investigation and the most widely followed murder case on record in this region. He was away at college, and had broken off contact with his family at a time when he was flunking out of school, drowning in debt and becoming exposed for a series of lies he'd told his parents. [21] Nine months later, she wrote a letter for publication in the Albany Times Union in which she urged authorities to leave Christopher alone and "to search for Peter's real killer or killers, so that he can rest in peace and my sons and I can live in safety. The prosecution had no forensic evidence, except for a New York Thruway ticket that allegedly carried Christophers mitochondrial DNA. Shortly after, the Porcos were attacked. Christophersmashed the alarm box in a failed attempt tomask the fact that someone had punched the correct code in, investigators theorized. Heres the heart-breaking aspect of the trial: Joan Porco stood by her son througheverything. [26], On August 2, 2006, the prosecution completed its case against Porco, and the defense's case, which was much briefer, began. P.O Box. Kids Who Kill: Jon Venables and RobertThompson, Chilling Final Photos of Murder Victims Taken by TheirKillers, Karla and Paul: Barbie & Ken SexualPredators, UFO Religious Sect Heavens Gate MassSuicide, Dr. Sergei Brukhonenko & Experiments in the Revival ofOrganisms, Patty Hearst & Stockholm Syndrome: When Victims Form a Bond With TheirPerpetrators. I suffered a major TBI some years ago after a major fall and spent a week in a coma, plus years regaining function. You would absolutely be familiar with Scott P 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. 15, 2004, when their son Christopher Porco decided to butcher them brutally with a firemans ax while at sleep. The Porcos believed the computer was stolen during a burglary at their Brockley Drive home, and Joan Porco did not learn the truth until last year. He told an investment professional he was coming into some money, investigators discovered. He also lost anappeal in 2014, when an appellate court rejected claims that he was denied effective assistance of appellate counsel. The defense believes that, combined with Joan Porcos mental state immediately after the injuries when paramedics began treatment, make it impossible for her to know who committed the crime. Thus, Peter got out of bed and proceeded to start his day. 01:18:45 - We hear almost daily about mothers and fathers killing their children, sometimes their entire family. It starred Lolita Davidovich as Joan Porco and Eric McCormack as "Detective Sullivan" presumably a composite character representing police who worked on the case. Wow, thanks for that detail! Where is henow? Christopher is the youngest child and was 21 in 2004 when this happened. Spotlight News, The Spot 518 and Capital District Family Now are divisions of Community Media Group, LLC. Probably not; probably, his mother lied to him. Joan was lying in the bed with severe head and facial trauma. The trial took place in July of 2006withChief Assistant District Attorney Michael P. McDermott leading the prosecution and lawyers Terence Kindlon and Laurie Shanksdefending the accused. [25], The Porco trial began on June 27, 2006. The Porco family were from Delmar, NY - Peter Porco was 52 at the time of the murder (he worked as a court clerk) and he lived with his wife Joan, who was a speech pathologist. Despite the shrill tone of many of the e-mails, Joan Porco said she and her husband, who died from his injuries, believed they would be able to straighten out the issues once Christopher came home and talked to them. It was snipped about two hours and 45 minutes after the home's alarm was deactivated by someone who used the master code, according to earlier testimony. According to the court opinion, Lifetime had . I was trying to get Christopher to come clean with information that he kept from us.". She told the juryshe didnt recall implicatingChristopher the night of the attack and that her childwould never commit a heinous crime like the one that killed her husband and disfigured her. But other jurors did not smile, and their eyes remained fixed on the woman whose still-visible injuries they have heard about in graphic detail for the past month. Joan Porco wrote to her son, who received the e-mail on his cellphone. A True Crime Blog of People Behaving Badly. Case 187: Peter & Joan Porco 21,138 views Sep 4, 2021 505 Dislike Share Save Casefile Presents 54.3K subscribers DESCRIPTION In the early hours of Monday, November 15 2004, husband and wife Peter. P E N N S Y L V A N I A b 1 A i t L i ;>VCAI; BOX T601 N.'S?A?R ROOM H A R R I S B U R G , PA. 17126 Junior, Senior High Home Room Schedules in Today's Allegheny Magazine WE Build a custom email digest by following topics, people, and firms published on JD Supra. According to the Albany Times Union, Johnathan's testimony influenced the jury; his demeanor toward his brother was "icy", and he described their relationship as "strained". He was able to remember the location of the spare key and made it back inside. Peter, per ABC News, was in a pool of his own blood near the home's entrance. He's covered in blood, saturated in blood, and obviously suffered tremendous catastrophic injuries." Resolved: Release in which this issue/RFE has been resolved. Joan Porco survived and, like her son, shes said little publicly about the case. Both parents wrote emails to Christopher discussing their concerns. 518.439.4949, SPOTTED: CD Jets beats Saratoga 4-2 in sectional playoffs, SPOTTED: Bethlehem boys hoops beat Niskayuna in OT, move on to play Sunday, Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter February 15th 22nd, SPOTTED: Albany vs Colonie boys basketball postponed due to medical emergency rescheduled for tonight, SPOTTED: Bethlehem swims past Albany in final dual meet, SPOTTED: Raiders win battle of Colonie over Shaker 55-33, SPOTTED: Bethlehem, Shaker and Saratoga gymnasts tumble for hunger. The interview aired on News 10 ABC on January 12, 2023 during its 6:00 PM ET newscast. Part of the problem stemmed from complaints from consumers who reported that Christopher had taken money from them for computers or other products but never delivered the goods as promised. When I woke up finally from the coma, I did not understand that just because I thought something didnt mean the nurses could hear me. The was blood everywhere a medical examiner later determined that 52-year-old Peter sustained massive head injuries causing his death. [7] One month before the attack, both Christopher and Johnathan Porco had their eBay accounts frozen because they shared the same Delmar address. Near the end of her testimony Monday, Joan Porco recounted that twice in the months preceding the attack she was scared by the presence of a stranger in the driveway, once at night and once in the day when she was outside gardening. [4] He returned to Delmar that evening. Bowdish said that when he asked Joan if a family member had committed the crime, Joan used her head to indicate "yes". Today, the now 39-year-old Porco is serving 46 years to life at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, the hulking North Country prison thats seen its own share of controversy. Founded in 2010, Thought Catalog is owned and operated by The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. For over a decade, we've been at the bleeding edge of media, pioneering an infrastructure for creatives to flourish both artistically and financially. After the attack, Porco was convicted in 2006 by an Albany jury during a highly publicized trial of both the murder of his father, Peter Porco, and the attempted murder of his mother, Joan Porco . Two toll collectors also recalled seeing a similar Jeep around the time prosecutors said Porco drove home on the NYS Thruway with a plan to kill his parents. The authorities wouldlater determine Porcohad been struckwith an ax 16 times. His concerned coworkers sent a police officer to his home. He drove back to college in the hours after the attack. Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com. [17], On the morning of August 10, 2006, the jury began deliberations. Judge Berry refused to allow prosecutors to use the forged transcripts as evidence in their criminal case against Christopher Porco. After the discovery of Peters body, Joan was found and taken to a hospital. GOSHEN -- Less than two weeks before she and her husband were brutally attacked in their Delmar home, Joan Porco briefly lost her composure in an e-mail she wrote to her younger son, Christopher. Joan lost her left eye and suffered from multiple head fractures. But jurors interviewed by 48 Hours Mystery said that they had dismissed the testimony about the nod for precisely that reason and had insteadrelied onthe prosecutions crime timeline as proof of guilt. A camera reported missing from the burglary was recovered from the couple's front yard. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. Peter Porco was . ", "Christopher Porco, The College Student Who Chopped Up His Parents With An Ax After An Argument About Money", "Porco trial: Prosecutors point to unusual alarm logs", "Timeline, vet's words proved damning to Porco", "Timeline around murder includes text messaging, exit tolls", "EZ-Pass, forged transcripts focus of testimony", "Jurors see video of yellow Jeep leaving campus", "An unfamiliar face in a distant courtroom", "Former neighbor who saw Jeep testifies; prosecution rests", "Jury delivers quick verdict; Porco mom absent", "Christopher Porco gets maximum sentence; Convicted killer speaks for the first time", "Disabled mother of killer Christopher Porco loses pension case", Supreme Court will not hear Christopher Porco's appeal; Bethlehem man convicted of killing his father, assaulting his mother with an axe in '04, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh5SPILKVi8, "TV Review: 'Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story', "Christopher Porco wins minor court victory in TV movie case", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1iSCSRZrW8, Christopher Porco Murder Trial special report at timesunion.com. "You shouldn't cry over spilled milk." TheU.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Christopherscase in 2012. In addition, he had been red-flagged by eBay, an Internet auction site, which also flagged his brother Johnathan's account, because they shared the same home address.