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Killer in the family podcast
A true crime podcast exploring men who kill their families.
Killer in the family podcast
Episode 59 - Maria Nugara and Giuseppe Morreale
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On the 28 May 2024 – just last year – 54 year old Maria Nugara was brutally killed by her husband who she was planning to divorce. Her son 29 year old Guiseppe Morreale stepped in to try and save her and was also killed. Husband and stepfather Calogera Ricotta was arrested immediately afterwards, was found guilty of their murders just a few days ago, and is now serving a life sentence for their murders.
This is the story of Maria Nugara and her son Giuseppe Morreale.
Information and support
· Samaritans UK Contact Us | Samaritans
· National Domestic Violence Helpline UK 0808 2000 247
· Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) Home - AAFDA
· Women’s Aid Home - Women's Aid
· National Domestic Abuse Helpline UK 0808 2000 247
· Mental health support USA Mental Health America | Homepage | Mental Health America
· Domestic abuse helpline USA 1.800.799.SAFE Domestic Violence Support | National Domestic Violence Hotline
References
Ugley man found guilty of murdering wife and stepson - BBC News
Wife wanted divorce before her killing, court hears - BBC News
Ugley deaths: Mother and son who died at home had 'very close bond' | ITV News Anglia
Essex family pay tribute to mum and brother who died in village | Saffron Walden Reporter
Ugley: Life sentence for killing mother and son | Essex Police
Credits
Hosted and created by Clare Laxton @ladylaxton
Produced by: Clare Laxton
Killer in the family podcast (buzzsprout.com)
Music from Pixabay.
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Hi there and welcome to Killer in the Family, and I just wanted to say a huge welcome to all my new listeners. Since the start of this year, the podcast has grown so much and it's now had 35,000 downloads, considering we were at 10,000 in September last year. This is huge. Thank you so much, everyone, and keep listening, subscribing and downloading. Let's get straight into today's episode.
Speaker 1:On the 28th of May 2024, just last year, 54-year-old Maria Noguera was brutally killed by her husband, who she was planning to divorce. Her son, 29-year-old Giuseppe Morial, stepped in to try and save her and was also killed. Husband and stepfather Calogero de Cota was arrested immediately afterwards, was found guilty of their murders just a few days ago and is now serving a life sentence for their murders. This is the story of Maria Nugara and her son, giuseppe Morial. This is going to be a really tough listen team. It happened so recently, so my thoughts are with Maria and Giuseppe's families and friends. I've relied mostly on news reports as sources for this episode and, as usual, all my sources are in the episode notes, as are links to information and support if you need it. There are quite a few Italian names in this episode, as you might have gathered and I've really tried hard with my pronunciation, but please let me know if I get anything wrong. So let's start by talking about Maria. She was 54 years old when she was killed by her husband. I couldn't find out loads of information about her childhood or her life, but I do know that she had four children, including Giuseppe, and a grandchild as well, and I do know that her husband, who killed them, wasn't the father of her four children, so I think she was on her second marriage.
Speaker 1:After Maria was killed, her children issued a statement about her and their brother. According to ITV, about Maria, they said, quote Our mum Maria was loving and dedicated to her four children and grandson. Our mum Maria was loving and dedicated to her four children and grandson. No matter what, she always had a smile and a positive outlook on life. Her infectious energy and her vibrant personality was always a joy to be around.
Speaker 1:Now, giuseppe Morial was 29 years old when he was killed by his stepfather. He was actually more commonly known as Joe, so that's what we're going to use going forward. His siblings described him to ITV as, quote Joe always had a cheeky smile and a loving heart. He loved his family and was always there for them. He had a very close bond with mum and always looked out for her. Now I couldn't find how they met, but Maria married a man called Calogero Ricotta on her 39th birthday in 2009. Ricotta himself is now 64 years old and was originally born in Sicily. Again, I couldn't find loads of information about his life and childhood, but I do think that he had children from a previous relationship or marriage.
Speaker 1:Now Maria and Ricotta lived in a one million pound detached house called the Woodlands, in a village in Essex which is northeast of London, called Ugli, spelt like U-G-L-E-Y, called Ugly, spelt like U-G-L-E-Y, and apparently the sort of relatively unusual name means woodland clearing of a man named Ugga, so maybe it's ugly. Anyway, a village in Essex. So they actually ran a house letting business together, so they rented properties together, though it was Ricotta who actually owned the rental properties and Maria did the accounts and supported the business with administrative work. It's not clear if any of their children live with them permanently, but on the night of the murders we do know that Joe was in the house, as well as at least one more teenager who can't be named for legal reasons at least one more teenager who can't be named for legal reasons. Now, according to a Daily Mail article, one of Ricotta's grown-up daughters did live with the couple for a while as well, but apparently this caused quite a lot of tension in the house as she came with lots of large dogs, which stressed Maria out.
Speaker 1:What is clear is that Maria and Ricotta did not have a happy marriage. He has been described as coercive and controlling and was also physically and verbally abusive to both Maria and Joe. On one occasion that Ricotta had physically abused Joe, the police were called, and there was another occasion where he threatened to cut Joe's throat with a chainsaw. So really, that's really violent here, really violent and abusive man here, and often coercive and controlling perpetrators will harm and abuse children as a way of getting to their partner, and it seems that Ricotta was no different here. You know, remember Joe was his stepson. He wasn't his child, but he was Maria's son and they had a really close bond. In more evidence of Ricotta's abuse in April 2023, so about a year before the murders the police were also called to Maria and Ricotta's house, as they had a really big argument. Now I couldn't find out what action, if any, was taken by the police after that argument, but apparently them arguing was very common.
Speaker 1:In 2024, ricotta's abusive behaviour was escalating apparently, and according to police, maria had started recording and taking steps to catalogue his behaviour, presumably either for a police investigation or for evidence in a divorce. And by this point they were both sleeping in separate bedrooms and Maria was also trying to establish some financial independence, according to police, and this says to me that maybe before in the marriage she didn't have any financial independence and relied on ricotta for money and financial support. Remember that it was ricotta that owned all of the rental properties that they had in their business. So it might be that actually she didn't really have any financial independence or any sort of financial support herself. And we've talked about before how economic abuse like this is common in abusive relationships and it's a really critical element of coercive control that's often employed by perpetrators to keep their partners and trap them in the relationship.
Speaker 1:And by this point so 2024, maria had even said to some of her most trusted friends that she was scared of Ricotta. She disclosed a couple of important things to her friend, sylvia James before the murders. She had once told her friend that Ricotta threatened to kill her and bury her in the garden A red flag, if I ever I heard one. And on the day of her murder, maria messaged Sylvia saying Ricotta had warned she had to stay with him or she would have to deal with the consequences. So you can really see his potentially escalating behaviour. Also the way that his abuse and control really comes out in all of his conversations, in his threats with Maria, and he's really trying to scare her by this point, but actually by this point, maria had contacted a solicitor and was said to be starting divorce proceedings Again.
Speaker 1:We know that one of the most dangerous times for women is when they leave an abusive relationship. So this was a really brave thing for Maria to start, as well as starting to collate evidence of Ricotta's abuse. I can imagine that she was mustering all her strength and bravery to leave Ricotta and the abuse that her and her children experienced. But before the murders, ricotta had said to Maria dead or alive, you will never leave this marriage. This is, this is going to be a really tough, tough, listen team. We are going to talk about what happened on the night of the 28th of May 2024.
Speaker 1:Now, according to the BBC, that night, maria returned to the house that she shared with Ricotta. She was seeing her eldest daughter, so she returned, turned from seeing her daughter. Around 9 47 pm Now. As well as Ricotta and Maria, in the house were also Maria's 29 year old son, joe, another teenager who we cannot name and another woman whose identity I couldn't find. Now I cannot imagine what it was like for that teenager who went on to witness the murders and later testified in court. I really hope that they are getting the support they need Now.
Speaker 1:According to the testimony of the teenager, once Maria got home, ricotta sort of nicely asked her to come and talk to him in the living room. She initially refused but then relented and went into the living room to talk to him. Now, apparently, the divorce papers that Maria had started were emailed to Ricotta that day, so I have no doubt that what he was about to do was calculated and planned. About 20 seconds after she went into the living room to talk to Ricotta, the teenager who was in another room of the house heard blood-curdling screams. They went in and they saw Maria was pinned on the sofa by Ricotta who was just stabbing her furiously. The teenager went on to describe how Joe, who was upstairs when the attack started, came running down the stairs in his boxer shorts and tried to save his mother by jumping on Ricotta's back and was stabbed himself in the stomach. At this point, the other woman in the house had called 999, so police were already on their way.
Speaker 1:Maria and Joe were on the floor of the living room, both stabbed and bleeding, and Ricotta continued to stab Maria in the neck with the six-inch kitchen knife he had. The teenager described how they had actually tried to kick Ricotta to get him to stop, and they also, sort of like, brandished a broom at him to just stop what he was doing. But they ran away when Ricotta threatened them with the knife. What I just cannot imagine. What a terrifying scene. This must have been Blood everywhere. Ricotta still stabbing Maria. I would have been so scared about what to do next. Apparently satisfied that he had killed both Maria and Joe, ricotta then calmly cleaned the knife in the kitchen sink and went outside to wait for police who were descending on the house. There's a video online, if you want to watch it, of the police arresting Ricotta. He's sort of standing on the patio, sort of just waiting for them. He was pretty calm as they arrested him and took him away.
Speaker 1:By this point, paramedics had already entered the house as well and were trying desperately to save Maria and Joe. Joe had chest and neck injuries and was unconscious due to the amount of blood that he had lost. Maria had 14 stab wounds and 44 incise wounds, which I think are basically shallower stab wounds. She had wounds to her front, her sides, her hands, her back, and the wounds to her hands presumably showed that she was trying to defend herself. She also had one huge wound to her neck which caused a huge amount of blood loss. Maria Nugada and Giuseppe Gio Morial were both declared dead at the scene.
Speaker 1:Ricotta stood trial for the murders of Maria and Joe in February this year. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which meant that their family had to be put through the trial. Not only did he force Maria and Joe's family into going through with the trial and for this teenage witness having to go through and give evidence at the trial, but he also tried to blame the murders on Joe. I literally cannot with this guy, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Ricotta said that night that Joe had come down the stairs with a knife and that he killed Joe in self-defense. He even said that Maria died because he Ricotta was using her as a shield, keeping it really classy there, mate. I mean not only to plead not guilty, where there was so much evidence to the contrary, but then also to try and blame the murders on one of the victims. It would be unbelievable if it wasn't true, and we've seen family annihilators try and blame victims before, so ricotta isn't anything new or special. The jury went out to consider their verdict and found ricotta guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to at least 34 years in prison and I hope he stays there for every single second of those 34 years.
Speaker 1:In her summing up remarks, the judge Justice, dame Mary Stacey, said that Ricotta was a controlling and coercive man and that he had tried to intimidate Maria into staying into a loveless marriage. She also continued quote Mr Morial gave his life trying to protect Maria and his siblings. His bravery that day stands in contrast to the cowardly way that you killed both of them. You planned to lure her into the living room by pretending to be nice. You manipulated her, knowing she would be tired after a stressful evening.
Speaker 1:Now Detective Inspector Lydia George, who was the senior investigating officer on the case, after the trial and the guilty verdict, said quote the work of officers in this case to make sure Ricotta faced justice was incredibly thorough. Witness accounts, financial records and forensic evidence were all employed to build a full and accurate picture of the incident. Maria had confided in those she trusted that Ricotta scared her, that she felt she was in danger. She was taking steps to catalogue his escalating behaviour and to remove him from his life. Ricotta's violence that day was evident, but our investigation proved beyond doubt that his hatred of Maria for leaving him was the motivation. The clearer we made this picture, the weaker Ricotta's defence became. It was a difficult and complex investigation where every officer involved knew securing this plea meant justice for Maria and Joe's family. I'd like to thank all of those involved for their commitment. Lastly, I thank the family again for their bravery throughout this case.
Speaker 1:Detective Inspector George also described Ricotta as calculating, controlling and violent, and I don't think I could have put it any better myself. This is another case, as if we need it, that shows the fatal dangers of coercive control and the support that women and children need, not only to leave an abusive relationship, but also afterwards, where the perpetrator should be held accountable for their actions and kept away from their former partner. Now I think it's only right to finish this episode by hearing from Maria and Joe's family in their statement, which has been published by the Essex Police. This is a tough listen, they said. Quote we make this statement together, united, but nothing we can say will capture the loss every one of us feels without Maria and Joe. The grief we feel is unimaginable and reaches well beyond our immediate family. They were both cherished and loved by friends, colleagues and those in the community who are still coming to terms with their senseless killings, who are still coming to terms with their senseless killings. We have found a strength and bravery within each other to get through the painful moments leading to this trial. This has come from Maria and Joe themselves and we will always carry that with us. They were murdered in the most horrific way, a way that only a coward would inflict upon those he supposedly loved. Our hearts are broken. He alone has destroyed them.
Speaker 1:Maria was the most beautiful person inside and out. She was kind, caring and clever, with a cracking sense of humour. She would call family every day to talk about everything and nothing. Her voice was an integral part of the day that is now missing and we will never hear again. She was always there for us to listen to us and our problems, which now seem so small in comparison to what she was dealing with. Her love for her family was unrivaled. Nothing compares to it. Her love for her family was unrivaled Nothing compares to it.
Speaker 1:Joe was a free spirit. He was an enthusiast for everything life had to offer. He was naturally funny. He was determined to make his life better. He was making his life better before it was so cruelly ripped away from him. He has always been kind and gentle and took the role of a protective older brother seriously. He was our rock. The last thing he did was try and save his mum. He is the bravest person we have ever known. He was our hero. They were kind and pure-hearted people. They were the best parts of us all.
Speaker 1:This has been Killer in the Family podcast, written and produced by me, claire Laxton. I'll be back next week with a new episode. Don't forget to send me any comments or questions to my Insta at Killer in the Family pod or through a text via a link in the episode notes. Do let me know any stories you'd like me to cover as well. Also, don't forget that you can buy me a coffee if you like the podcast and help support it's running. The link is in the episode notes and thank you so much to everyone for your support so far. Until then, I've been claire laxton. This is killer in the family podcast until next time no-transcript.
