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The Mad Batter: Difference between revisions
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=== Matteo Di Buca === | === Matteo Di Buca === | ||
Lazzaro's fixation on Matteo Di Buca began in high school. Both men were members of Barbera Academy High School's class of 2009 and were well acquainted with one another from their freshman year, despite the fact that Barbera's enrollment exceeds four thousand students. Other students from that time recall that Lazzaro was a "hanger-on" to a large [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescent_clique clique] centered around Di Buca and several of Lazzaro's later victims. By all accounts, Lazzaro's involvement in Di Buca's circle was easily forgettable aside from the times when he was a target for the group's ridicule and bullying. It has been reported that on numerous occasions, Lazzaro was subjected to publicly-administered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedgie "wedgies"] and being held by his ankles over an open stairwell, and he was frequently required to perform menial acts (such as carrying books or retrieving lunch trays for other group members) in exchange for the "privilege" of group membership. | Lazzaro's fixation on [[Matteo Di Buca]] began in high school. Both men were members of Barbera Academy High School's class of 2009 and were well acquainted with one another from their freshman year, despite the fact that Barbera's enrollment exceeds four thousand students. Other students from that time recall that Lazzaro was a "hanger-on" to a large [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescent_clique clique] centered around Di Buca and several of Lazzaro's later victims. By all accounts, Lazzaro's involvement in Di Buca's circle was easily forgettable aside from the times when he was a target for the group's ridicule and bullying. It has been reported that on numerous occasions, Lazzaro was subjected to publicly-administered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedgie "wedgies"] and being held by his ankles over an open stairwell, and he was frequently required to perform menial acts (such as carrying books or retrieving lunch trays for other group members) in exchange for the "privilege" of group membership. | ||
Psychologists familiar with the case have suggested that Lazzaro's fixation on Di Buca probably took the form of hero worship during their earliest association, presenting as a need for Di Buca's attention and approval. When the attention he received from Di Buca proved consistently negative, Lazzaro began identifying Di Buca as a "tormentor" instead of a hero (his own choice of words, as reported from his trial). This transition may have occurred over time, but more likely happened primarily during the critical moment when Lazzaro was "pushed over the edge" and committed his first murder. | Psychologists familiar with the case have suggested that Lazzaro's fixation on Di Buca probably took the form of hero worship during their earliest association, presenting as a need for Di Buca's attention and approval. When the attention he received from Di Buca proved consistently negative, Lazzaro began identifying Di Buca as a "tormentor" instead of a hero (his own choice of words, as reported from his trial). This transition may have occurred over time, but more likely happened primarily during the critical moment when Lazzaro was "pushed over the edge" and committed his first murder. | ||
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=== Grayson Gaynes === | === Grayson Gaynes === | ||
By the time Lazzaro encountered New York City police officer Grayson Gaynes in 2013, his psychosis would have been well established. When he then suffered a traumatic event at Gaynes' hand, the fact that it was entirely accidental made no difference; his rage and hatred of Di Buca—and his thirst for revenge—easily grew to encompass Gaynes as well. That traumatic event was his arrest (on drug charges) from a public bathroom stall, during which Gaynes failed to give him adequate time to pull up his pants and fasten his belt. While being escorted to Gaynes' police cruiser, Lazzaro's pants came free, exposing him on a crowded sidewalk, drawing laughter and ridicule from bystanders. | By the time Lazzaro encountered New York City police officer [[Grayson Gaynes]] in 2013, his psychosis would have been well established. When he then suffered a traumatic event at Gaynes' hand, the fact that it was entirely accidental made no difference; his rage and hatred of Di Buca—and his thirst for revenge—easily grew to encompass Gaynes as well. That traumatic event was his arrest (on drug charges) from a public bathroom stall, during which Gaynes failed to give him adequate time to pull up his pants and fasten his belt. While being escorted to Gaynes' police cruiser, Lazzaro's pants came free, exposing him on a crowded sidewalk, drawing laughter and ridicule from bystanders. | ||
During his subsequent yearlong prison sentence, Lazzaro began plotting to pit Di Buca and Gaynes against one another. His hatred for the Di Bucas had only grown when the crime family "left him out to dry," providing him no legal or monetary assistance despite the fact that he had allegedly been working for the family when arrested. In January 2015, Lazzaro called in his first [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anonymous_tip anonymous tip] to police, asking for Gaynes by name and implicating Di Buca in two of the four murders Lazzaro had by then committed. Other tips followed, and Lazzaro's dreams came true when a very public rivalry developed between Gaynes and Di Buca. And yet, despite Lazzaro's best efforts, which led to the March 27, 2015 arrest of Matteo Di Buca, New York City police were unable to make charges stick. Di Buca was released days later on April 1. So Lazzaro took matters back into his own hands. | During his subsequent yearlong prison sentence, Lazzaro began plotting to pit Di Buca and Gaynes against one another. His hatred for the Di Bucas had only grown when the crime family "left him out to dry," providing him no legal or monetary assistance despite the fact that he had allegedly been working for the family when arrested. In January 2015, Lazzaro called in his first [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anonymous_tip anonymous tip] to police, asking for Gaynes by name and implicating Di Buca in two of the four murders Lazzaro had by then committed. Other tips followed, and Lazzaro's dreams came true when a very public rivalry developed between Gaynes and Di Buca. And yet, despite Lazzaro's best efforts, which led to the March 27, 2015 arrest of Matteo Di Buca, New York City police were unable to make charges stick. Di Buca was released days later on April 1. So Lazzaro took matters back into his own hands. | ||
