Vince Marinello
Encyclopedia
Vince Marinello is a well-known former longtime sportscaster
who was featured on WWL AM/FM
radio
and, previously, on WDSU
television
in New Orleans, Louisiana
.http://www.radioandrecords.com/radiomonitor/news/format/talk/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003087394 He was most recently known as a leading media personality covering aspects of the recovery of the city from the devastation following Hurricane Katrina
. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9803508/detail.html. Before his arrest for the murder of his third wife, he served as an in-house television host and analyst at the Fair Grounds Race Course
from 1990-2005.
. Jefferson Parish
Sheriff's authorities initially announced their belief that the murder was a result of a botched robbery. http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1157613279102510.xml?NZNPMT&coll=1
Marinello voluntarily met with sheriff's investigators and initially denied any connection to the murder of his estranged wife, saying he was in Jackson, Mississippi
. On September 7, he voluntarily turned himself in to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff
's Department's main office in Gretna, Louisiana
. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, who filed for a contentious divorce after she discovered he was not legally divorced when they wed. On the night of September 11, 2006, Marinello posted a $250,000 bond and was released from jail.http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpupdates/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tpupdates/archives/2006_09_11.html#182236
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said detectives believe that Marinello himself committed the crime by staking out the Metairie office tower where Mary Elizabeth regularly saw a counselor, allegedly donning a false beard and mustache and shooting her twice in the face with a .38 caliber pistol. Shortly after the shooting occurred, Marinello drove to Jackson, Mississippi
, to watch a pre-season game of the New Orleans Saints on television with friends. Police believe the trip was designed to give Marinello an alibi
.
Surveillance video around the scene of the crime recorded a figure matching the description of a suspicious person seen leaving the scene on a bicycle. The surveillance video showed someone standing beside the victim's vehicle after waiting in the parking lot for approximately 25 minutes. The suspicious person was described as a scruffy-looking white male with a beard and a dark complexion and was reportedly seen loading a bicycle into a white car matching the description of Marinello's vehicle. Sheriff Lee, who described Marinello as his friend, apologized to the public for previously releasing misleading information while the investigation continued.http://www.wwl.com/Article.asp?id=269507&spid=
According to Lee, the key piece of evidence leading to charges was a sheet of paper found in Marinello's FEMA trailer during the execution of a search warrant several days after the crime. The note, which Lee characterized as a checklist, allegedly contained written notes about a gun and its disposal, a bike and a disguise. Lee said that calls his office received from the public had indicated that Marinello recently purchased a disguise and had purchased bullets for a .38 caliber gun. Lee said the nylon-coated bullets purchased by Marinello were unusual and were of the same kind as those found in Ms. Marinello’s body.
Marinello’s alibi that he was in Jackson, Mississippi at 6:30 p.m., watching the football game with friends, was undermined when the acquaintances said he actually did not show up until after kickoff at 7:30, allowing for the possibility that Marinello was in Old Metairie at the time of his wife's murder, around 4:00 p.m.http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl090706khmarinello.785e7a08.html Lee suggested that charges may also be filed against the wife of the couple Marinello was with in Jackson regarding her involvement with the crime and an alleged connection to the murder weapon.
Marinello's attorneys sought and received a change of venue for the trial claiming that Marinello would not be able to receive a fair trial at home due to the publicity surrounding the case. The trial was then moved from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana to Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, After two weeks in court, and after testifying himself in an effort to explain his actions and some of the evidence in the case (such as the handwritten "to do list" found in his abode after the murder), on December 13, 2008, the jury found Vince guilty after 90 minutes of deliberation. http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl121308cbmarinello.5c3f8bb3.html
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
who was featured on WWL AM/FM
WWL-FM
WWL-FM is a simulcast of news/talk WWL in the New Orleans, Louisiana radio market, licensed to the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. The Entercom station broadcasts at 105.3 MHz with an ERP of 96 kW.-History:...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and, previously, on WDSU
WDSU
WDSU, virtual channel 6, is the NBC-affiliated television station for the New Orleans, Louisiana television market. It is owned by Hearst Television, which in turn is wholly owned by the Hearst Corporation. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 43...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.http://www.radioandrecords.com/radiomonitor/news/format/talk/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003087394 He was most recently known as a leading media personality covering aspects of the recovery of the city from the devastation following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9803508/detail.html. Before his arrest for the murder of his third wife, he served as an in-house television host and analyst at the Fair Grounds Race Course
Fair Grounds Race Course
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC....
from 1990-2005.
Mary Elizabeth Marinello Murder Case
On August 31, 2006, Marinello's estranged wife, Mary Elizabeth, was shot twice in the face in the parking lot of an office tower in Metairie, LouisianaMetairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
. Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
Sheriff's authorities initially announced their belief that the murder was a result of a botched robbery. http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1157613279102510.xml?NZNPMT&coll=1
Marinello voluntarily met with sheriff's investigators and initially denied any connection to the murder of his estranged wife, saying he was in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
. On September 7, he voluntarily turned himself in to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
's Department's main office in Gretna, Louisiana
Gretna, Louisiana
The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, who filed for a contentious divorce after she discovered he was not legally divorced when they wed. On the night of September 11, 2006, Marinello posted a $250,000 bond and was released from jail.http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpupdates/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tpupdates/archives/2006_09_11.html#182236
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said detectives believe that Marinello himself committed the crime by staking out the Metairie office tower where Mary Elizabeth regularly saw a counselor, allegedly donning a false beard and mustache and shooting her twice in the face with a .38 caliber pistol. Shortly after the shooting occurred, Marinello drove to Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, to watch a pre-season game of the New Orleans Saints on television with friends. Police believe the trip was designed to give Marinello an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
.
Surveillance video around the scene of the crime recorded a figure matching the description of a suspicious person seen leaving the scene on a bicycle. The surveillance video showed someone standing beside the victim's vehicle after waiting in the parking lot for approximately 25 minutes. The suspicious person was described as a scruffy-looking white male with a beard and a dark complexion and was reportedly seen loading a bicycle into a white car matching the description of Marinello's vehicle. Sheriff Lee, who described Marinello as his friend, apologized to the public for previously releasing misleading information while the investigation continued.http://www.wwl.com/Article.asp?id=269507&spid=
According to Lee, the key piece of evidence leading to charges was a sheet of paper found in Marinello's FEMA trailer during the execution of a search warrant several days after the crime. The note, which Lee characterized as a checklist, allegedly contained written notes about a gun and its disposal, a bike and a disguise. Lee said that calls his office received from the public had indicated that Marinello recently purchased a disguise and had purchased bullets for a .38 caliber gun. Lee said the nylon-coated bullets purchased by Marinello were unusual and were of the same kind as those found in Ms. Marinello’s body.
Marinello’s alibi that he was in Jackson, Mississippi at 6:30 p.m., watching the football game with friends, was undermined when the acquaintances said he actually did not show up until after kickoff at 7:30, allowing for the possibility that Marinello was in Old Metairie at the time of his wife's murder, around 4:00 p.m.http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl090706khmarinello.785e7a08.html Lee suggested that charges may also be filed against the wife of the couple Marinello was with in Jackson regarding her involvement with the crime and an alleged connection to the murder weapon.
Marinello's attorneys sought and received a change of venue for the trial claiming that Marinello would not be able to receive a fair trial at home due to the publicity surrounding the case. The trial was then moved from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana to Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, After two weeks in court, and after testifying himself in an effort to explain his actions and some of the evidence in the case (such as the handwritten "to do list" found in his abode after the murder), on December 13, 2008, the jury found Vince guilty after 90 minutes of deliberation. http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl121308cbmarinello.5c3f8bb3.html