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The Mad Batter: Difference between revisions
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<spoiler show="Show Article" isPage="true" warningTitle="WARNING! Article includes MAJOR SPOILERS!" warningText="If you have not yet read both [a href='/en/Gray_Rose'][i]Gray Rose[/i][/a] and [a href='/en/Fade_to_Gray'][i]Fade to Gray[/i][/a], you are advised not to expose yourself to any of the information on this page."> | <spoiler show="Show Article" isPage="true" warningTitle="WARNING! Article includes MAJOR SPOILERS!" warningText="If you have not yet read both [a href='/en/Gray_Rose'][i]Gray Rose[/i][/a] and [a href='/en/Fade_to_Gray'][i]Fade to Gray[/i][/a], you are advised not to expose yourself to any of the information on this page."> | ||
{| style="float:right; border:1px solid #a2a9b1; | {| style="float:right; border:1px solid #a2a9b1; width:20em; text-align:left; background-color: #f8f9fa; padding: 5px; margin: 10px; vertical-align: top;" | ||
!colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:center;" | The Mad Batter | !colspan="2" style="font-size:125%;text-align:center;" | The Mad Batter | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
! Born | ! style=width:8em | Born | ||
| Giovanni Raffaele Lazzaro | | Giovanni Raffaele Lazzaro | ||
September 12, 1990 | September 12, 1990 | ||
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During the trial, it came out that Lazzaro's primary motive for the murders was revenge against two men he claimed had wronged him in years past: Matteo Di Buca, who bullied Lazzaro in high school, and [[Grayson Gaynes]], a police officer who arrested Lazzaro on March 27, 2013 on an unrelated charge of felony drug trafficking. Prior to this confession, the Mad Batter was believed to have chosen his victims based upon a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_profile demographic profile], since all but one of them were women under the age of 25, primarily blue-eyed, brunette Caucasians. | During the trial, it came out that Lazzaro's primary motive for the murders was revenge against two men he claimed had wronged him in years past: Matteo Di Buca, who bullied Lazzaro in high school, and [[Grayson Gaynes]], a police officer who arrested Lazzaro on March 27, 2013 on an unrelated charge of felony drug trafficking. Prior to this confession, the Mad Batter was believed to have chosen his victims based upon a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_profile demographic profile], since all but one of them were women under the age of 25, primarily blue-eyed, brunette Caucasians. | ||
Observers have noted that Lazzaro seems to enjoy the publicity the murders and his subsequent trial generated. In fact, Lazzaro admitted to calling in many of the | Observers have noted that Lazzaro seems to enjoy the publicity the murders and his subsequent trial generated. In fact, Lazzaro admitted to calling in many of the anonymous tips police received while investigating his killings, though most of those tips were intended to implicate Di Buca. The same observers have pointed out that this kind of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_seeking attention seeking] is another common motive among serial killers. On numerous occasions in the years following his arrest, Lazzaro has attempted to sell book or film rights to his story, but New York State's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_Sam_law Son of Sam laws] have prevented any such arrangements, on the grounds that criminals should not profit financially from their crimes. | ||
Lazzaro is currently incarcerated in state prison, serving five consecutive life sentences. | Lazzaro is currently incarcerated in state prison, serving five consecutive life sentences. | ||
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As with Odette before, Toscani's parents soon reported her missing. Di Buca came under suspicion much more quickly this time, but there was even less evidence linking him to Toscani's disappearance than Odette's. Vittorio wasn't reported missing for several more weeks, and even then, his disappearance was not linked to Toscani's, so secret had their affair been. | As with Odette before, Toscani's parents soon reported her missing. Di Buca came under suspicion much more quickly this time, but there was even less evidence linking him to Toscani's disappearance than Odette's. Vittorio wasn't reported missing for several more weeks, and even then, his disappearance was not linked to Toscani's, so secret had their affair been. | ||
By January 2015, seven months after Toscani and Vittorio's murder, the related missing persons cases had gone cold. In the first stage of his plan to pit Di Buca against police officer Gray Gaynes, Lazzaro called in the first of his now-famous | By January 2015, seven months after Toscani and Vittorio's murder, the related missing persons cases had gone cold. In the first stage of his plan to pit Di Buca against police officer Gray Gaynes, Lazzaro called in the first of his now-famous anonymous tips. He asked for Gaynes by name and implicated Di Buca not only in Toscani's death but also Vittorio's, which led Gaynes to officially connect the two disappearances for the first time. In the months that followed, Gaynes came to believe Di Buca guilty of Odette's death as well, and he even theorized that Morrissey was Di Buca's first victim. (Gaynes was later vindicated on all points except the identity of the killer.) On March 27, 2015, Gaynes performed Di Buca's very first arrest, but was forced to release him days later for lack of evidence. He couldn't yet prove that any of the four victims had been murdered, much less by Di Buca. | ||
=== Rose Moynihan === | === Rose Moynihan === | ||
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Though Gaynes remained in a coma, Lazzaro feared the police officer might awake at any moment and name his attacker, so the killer went on the run. Stealing a hundred thousand dollars cash from his employers (money the Di Buca crime family had itself allegedly stolen in a [[Alleged Di Buca 2014 armored car heist|2014 armored car heist]]), Lazzaro fled to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,_Ohio Toledo, Ohio], where he remained for the next month. | Though Gaynes remained in a coma, Lazzaro feared the police officer might awake at any moment and name his attacker, so the killer went on the run. Stealing a hundred thousand dollars cash from his employers (money the Di Buca crime family had itself allegedly stolen in a [[Alleged Di Buca 2014 armored car heist|2014 armored car heist]]), Lazzaro fled to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo,_Ohio Toledo, Ohio], where he remained for the next month. | ||
Still eager to shift blame onto the Di Buca crime family, even if Matteo Di Buca could not have personally carried out the attack on Gaynes and Moynihan, Lazzaro called in another of his | Still eager to shift blame onto the Di Buca crime family, even if Matteo Di Buca could not have personally carried out the attack on Gaynes and Moynihan, Lazzaro called in another of his anonymous tips. This time, he gave homicide squad detectives the exact location of Toscani's body inside the warehouse managed by Di Buca. Unfortunately for Lazzaro, that still wasn't enough for police to arrest Di Buca. | ||
Matters worked out to the killer's advantage in a different way, however. For when Grayson Gaynes awoke from his coma, he claimed no recollection of the April 5 attack, including the identity of his attacker. Lazzaro was free to return to New York City, which he did in late May 2015. He immediately sought out employment—and protection—from the Russo crime family, chief rivals of the Di Bucas; Lazzaro dreaded retribution from the Di Bucas if he was ever suspected of the theft of that hundred thousand dollars, but his fears never materialized. Soon, Lazzaro was back on the streets, now selling guns for the Russos instead of drugs for the Di Bucas, his clientele consisting primarily of minors and gang members. | Matters worked out to the killer's advantage in a different way, however. For when Grayson Gaynes awoke from his coma, he claimed no recollection of the April 5 attack, including the identity of his attacker. Lazzaro was free to return to New York City, which he did in late May 2015. He immediately sought out employment—and protection—from the Russo crime family, chief rivals of the Di Bucas; Lazzaro dreaded retribution from the Di Bucas if he was ever suspected of the theft of that hundred thousand dollars, but his fears never materialized. Soon, Lazzaro was back on the streets, now selling guns for the Russos instead of drugs for the Di Bucas, his clientele consisting primarily of minors and gang members. | ||
