[9] A New York State Thruway toll collector outside Rochester said a yellow Jeep Wrangler with large tires passed through his station at about 10:45p.m. on November 14, and a collector in Albany recalled the "excessive speed" of a yellow Jeep Wrangler approaching the toll plaza shortly before 2a.m. on November 15. He was perhaps oblivious to what had occurred and was running on adrenaline. During the early morning hours of Nov. 15, 2004, Peter and Joan Porco were brutally hacked by an ax-wielding intruder in their bedroom. Therewas more: Christopherhad sought financialadviceshortly before the ax attack. Christopher Porco is a greedy and lying little shit. Joan argued that she was unable to remember what happened the night of the attack but knew that her son could have never killed her husband. Hell beeligible for parole in the year 2052. The darkest aspects of humanlifeandnature. The current status is active. An axe belonging to family, which was used in the attack, was found in the couple's bedroom. 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. The police found Joan Porco, 54, in the bedroom. He told an investment professional he was coming into some money, investigators discovered. [19][11], A neighbor of the Porco family later testified at trial that he saw Porco's yellow Jeep in the family's driveway on the evening of the attack. When he was readmitted the following year, he took out a loan for $31,000 to pay his expenses, forging his father's name as a cosignatory. By mid-September that year, Joan Porco pleaded with Christopher to give them the telephone number at his dorm room back at the University of Rochester. A jury convicted Christopher, an academically derelictUniversity of Rochesterstudent from Bethlehem, New York, of attacking Joan and Peter Porcowith an ax as they slept on November 15,2004. She survived but lost the left eye, a portion of the skull and her face was left disfigured. petitioner sustained a serious injury and then applied for and was granted disability retirement under Education Law 511. Dr. Paul Spurgas, associate professor of neurosurgery at Albany Medical Center, spent six hours removing and repairing damaged bone from the center of Porcos scalp down the right forehead and right eye during a 12-hour overall operation to save her life. READ MORE: Pick up a copy of tomorrow's Times Union for full coverage of today's Porco trial testimony. Joan Porco survived the attacks that murdered her husband, Peter, and for which her son, Christopher, 22, is now on trial. Photo taken of Joan Porco after the attack Photo Source: Times Union (website) The amount of forensic and circumstantial evidence was over whelming. She said police never asked her about the incidents or for a description of the person. [29], Perri, Frank S. (2011). Investigators found surveillance video of ayellow Jeep that supported their contention that Christopher traveled 232 miles from Rochester to the Porcoshouse the night of the attack, assaultedhis mother and father with an ax, and high-tailed it back to Rochester. Good Lord, the human body is capable of some amazing things with the assistance of adrenaline. A jury quickly convicted Christopher on the strength of the timeline the prosecution constructed. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. TheForensic Filesand48 Hours Mysteryepisodes about the case didnt play up that angle. At this point, I have little confidence that they will ever be caught.. 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. A way out. [22][23] He also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear his case without opinion.[24]. She supported her son throughout the trial. Some thoughts with regard to Joan's brain injury: He told police he was sleeping in the lounge of hisdormitory, Munro House, during the time of the attacks. He will be eligible for parole in 2052. Joan would lose her left eye and a portion of her skull. AsForensic Filesexplained it, an injury can damagethe brains neocortex, which controls reasoning, but leave intact the underlying paleocortex, which guides second-nature habits. I'd never heard that. On November 15, 2004, Peter Porco, a 52-year-old state Appellate Division court clerk, was found dead of massive head injuries in his home in Delmar, New York. The was blood everywhere - a medical examiner later determined that 52-year-old Peter sustained massive head injuries causing his death. Peter, per ABC News, was in a pool of his own blood near the home's entrance. Peter - a New York State Appellate Division court clerk - died later that day. His father did not die immediately but rather livedfor a few hours after the assault, and his mothersurvived her wounds and is alive today. CARMODY CONSTRUCTION FL INC. (Corporate #P20000060210) is a Domestic Profit in Naples, Florida registered with Florida Department of State (DOS). Currently Reading. Blood evidence left at the scene showed that, despite having 16 major wounds to his face and head including a penetration wound to his brain and the removal of part of his jaw, Peter continued about his morning routines as normal. "I did not think that he was mentally ill," Joan Porco said, when asked about an e-mail she'd written to Christopher days before the attack questioning his mental stability. He needed another $30,000 once Rochester let him back in. Christopher Porco, now 39, is pictured here in a prison mugshot taken at state prison in November 2009. Police had theorized that noneighbors heardBarrister bark that night because the killer was someone (presumably Christopher) that the Labrador retrieveralready knew. Apparently, I told my kids we should go take a nap together. The crimes were committed on November 15, 2004 at the home of Peter and Joan Porco in Delmar, New York. A ShowboatingAx Murderer They came inside to find 52-year-old Appellate Division court clerk, Peter Porco, in a pile of his own blood, dead from massive head injuries. "[10] Porco earned readmission to the University of Rochester with a forged transcript from Hudson Valley Community College. Up-and-coming actor Matt Barr played Christopher Porco in the Lifetime movie about the case. Porco had been convicted of murdering his father and attempting to murder his mother, Joan Porco. 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 . His parents never knew about the forged transcripts, and the judge in the case has refused to let prosecutors tell the jury about it. In the presence of Bowdish as well as paramedics on the scene, she nodded yes when asked whether it was her younger son. The neurosurgeon who operated on Joan Porco's skull fractures after the ax attack inside the Porco family's Brockley Drive home in November 2004, said her severe injuries could cause memory . [16] The trial was held in Orange County because of intense media coverage in the Albany area. I mean, youll only load it once, but, better than never!/s. She answered questions by both the prosecution and defense concerning her memory of the attacks and her relationship with Chris. [23], In statements to the press and criminal proceedings, Kindlon suggested that the Bethlehem Police Department had made Christopher Porco's guilt a foregone conclusion. She walked into the courtroom just after 10 a.m., called as a witness for the prosecution. It was spring break, and Christopher Porco was touring Europe with some friends when his parents found out. It starred Lolita Davidovich as Joan Porco and Eric McCormackas Detective Sullivan presumably a composite character representing police who worked on the case. She suffered disfiguring injuries to her head and face, including the loss of an eye, and slight damage to her brain. "I think that we were thinking we were going to have to move in on Christopher. According to ABC News, Peter Porco did not immediately die after being ambushed by the ax-wielding assailant. It's a strategic gamble, prosecutors said later, to soften the effect of her testifying for the defense if they didn't call her to the stand first. [7] One month before the attack, both Christopher and Johnathan Porco had their eBay accounts frozen because they shared the same Delmar address. Callan was soon after med-flighted to Boston Children's 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. `You are not a doctor,` said . Joan Porco could not communicate for a period of time after surgery because her jaw was wired shut and she was fed through a feeding tube. [7], Professor Frank Perri has argued that police interviews with Christopher Porco were seriously flawed because police questioning procedures seemingly failed to account for Porco's probable psychopathy. Peter Porco, 52, a longtime judges law clerk, suffered devastating wounds to his head. ATimes Union blog postinviting readers to weigh in on Christopher Porcos guilt or innocence yielded much praise for the jury and prosecutors who convicted him as well assome refutation ofclaims that Christopherwas well-liked. As a result of her poor eyesight, Shanks asked to read a series of e-mails to the jury that Joan had exchanged with her son in the 11 months preceding the attack. In fact, on the weekend of the murder, they had hoped he would be there to talk, she said. Joan Porco, Voorheesville, appellant pro se. The trial was moved from Albany County to the Orange County town of Goshen. Oh and this murder which is where the worst repercussions of spoiling end up. 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. Eventually, Peter collapsed and died. There is no doubt in my mind, Porco told correspondent Peter Van Sant in an Albany County jail interview conducted after Porcos August conviction. A couple typical ones: Leah Blodget: Romeo? Even so, Christopher Porco was convicted and handed a 50-year sentence, per All Spectrum News. Joan Porco survived and, like her son, shes said little publicly about the case. [3] Christopher Porco was at the University of Rochester when his parents were discovered. None of thathelped. `She was sedated before coming to the emergency room, and could not respond with a tube in her throat,` said Spurgas. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Porco wielded an ax to carry out the attack that, years later, continues to draw the attention of true crime fans, podcasters and TV producers. ABC News writes that someone broke into their home in Bethlehem, New York, and attacked them with an ax in their sleep. "What are you hiding. He stated (via ABC News), "And at the base of those stairs is the dead body of Peter Porco. Long before the tragedy: Joan and Peter Porco with their sons, Christopher on the left, in the 1980s A jury convicted Christopher, an academically derelict University of Rochester student from Bethlehem, New York, of attacking Joan and Peter Porco with an ax as they slept on November 15, 2004. After waking up, he carried out his morning routine before finally dying,[2] as he had written a check for Christopher, made a packed lunch and attempted to load the dishwasher in the kitchen during the time before his death. We were angry disappointed. Investigatorshad a few leads on other suspects. "I'm concerned with these behaviors," Joan Porco wrote to her son. He had his eye on their$1 million life insurance payout, authorities believe. So, apparently he did have at least some girlfriends but wasnt necessarily a full-onJFK (Jr. or Sr.) with the ladies. A camera reported missing from the burglary was recovered from the couple's front yard. DANNEMORA, N.Y. ( NEWS10) A little more than seven years ago, I was sitting at a red . (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) Christopher Porco escorts his mother Joan Porco from the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen at lunch during the third day of jury selection on Wednesday June 28, 2006. Bizarrely, after the father Peter was attacked, he went about his regular morning routine, unaware that he was dying. Investigators theorized he wore scrubs from the veterinary office during the assault and then destroyed or hidthem. In the yearsleading up to the assault on his mother and father, Christopher Porco had told his school friends tall tales about having a wealthyfamily with extensive real estate holdingsand vacationhomes. "No," she said of her ability to remember what happened. All in all, Christopher was in the hole for at least$50,000 a lot of debt, butnotinsurmountable. Both parents wrote emails to Christopher discussing their concerns. His wife Joan Porco (ne Balzano), a children's speech pathologist, was discovered lying in the couple's blood-drenched bed with severe head trauma; she survived with loss of one eye and part of her skull, and severe facial disfigurement. On November 15, 2004, Peter Porco, a 52-year-old state Appellate Division court clerk, was found dead of massive head injuries in his home in Delmar, New York. During breaks in the trial Monday, and after the jury had cleared from the courtroom, Joan Porco walked over to her son at the defense table. She did break her silence briefly in a letter sent to the Times Union in August 2005. His legs are dangling off the end of the landing. Like her husband, she had been hitwith an ax, but only three times. The behavior of the Porcos dog, which the prosecution had used as evidence, was also disputed in the appeal. He had re-enrolled there using forged transcripts from Hudson Valley college that showed he scored very high marks that spring. [5], In late November 2004, outgoing Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne convened a grand jury to hear testimony implicating Christopher Porco in the murder. For example, Porco lied to obtain both a car and tuition payments.