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Ann Marie Fahey
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Aaron Moriarty
He was a wealthy, connected lawyer.
Colm Conley
Tonk Panel was a magnetic, charming individual.
Debbie McIntyre
He had power, he had money. He had looks.
Aaron Moriarty
He seemed to have it all.
Debbie McIntyre
He was actually thinking about running for Attorney General.
Aaron Moriarty
But he wanted something he couldn't have.
Ann Marie Fahey
Anne was very, very pretty.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
She had this great inner life.
Aaron Moriarty
And when he couldn't have her.
Tom Capano
I meant what I said about only being able to offer you my friendship.
Aaron Moriarty
He killed her.
Tom Capano
Tom Capano couldn't have her. And he wasn't going to let another man have her.
Ann Marie Fahey
I guess he really never thought he was going to be caught.
Aaron Moriarty
Aaron Moriarty reports the anatomy of a murder.
Colm Conley
How did he think he was going to get away with it?
Father Roberto Baldicelli
Well, he almost did.
Aaron Moriarty
The real story behind the investigation.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
There was no body, there were no witnesses. There wasn't a weapon.
Aaron Moriarty
And the powerful man who risked everything and almost got away with murder.
Tom Capano
Arrogant, fascinating, brilliant killer who tripped himself up.
Aaron Moriarty
Fatal Attraction. He was a well connected, influential lawyer. A man with everything in his favor who almost got away with murder.
Ann Marie Fahey
Almost.
Aaron Moriarty
Good evening. Thomas J. Capano was a rising star who seemed to have it all. That is, until he risked it all. A multimillionaire from a prominent family. A former prosecutor with political aspirations. A family man with a limitless future. But there also was no limit to his deception. He was secretly leading a double life. And soon enough, his secrets would catch up with him. Aaron Moriarty investigates this case of Fatal Attraction. Tonight, insiders piece together for you the story of a powerful man who thought he had committed the perfect crime.
Tom Capano
My chosen subject is the consummate sociopath. The person who has it off, but who wears such a perfect mask that it's fantastically interesting to peel it away.
Colm Conley
There were 19,645 murders in this country in 1996.
Tom Capano
Tom Capano is my kind of guy.
Colm Conley
But bestselling author Ann Rule is interested.
Tom Capano
In only one arrogant, fascinating, brilliant killer who tripped himself up.
Colm Conley
Her 17th book and never Let Her Go is a real life murder mystery.
Tom Capano
She tried to leave it. How dare she.
Colm Conley
The story of how this man, Thomas Capano, once one of the most powerful lawyers in the state of Delaware, ended up on death row.
Tom Capano
He threw her away. He threw her away.
Colm Conley
And how this 30 year old woman who tried to get away from him lost her life.
Tom Capano
I actually feel her sitting beside me as I work and I have this great responsibility to her to tell her story.
Colm Conley
Ann Marie Fahey was the youngest of six children in a close knit family.
Ann Marie Fahey
Ann was very, very pretty. I mean she was 5, 10. Her older sister Kathleen, you know, beautiful eyes and smile.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
I love this one.
Colm Conley
Her brother Brian.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
She had this great inner light, you know, that you just couldn't miss.
Kevin Friel
Annie would walk into a room and it's like somebody threw the light switch and all the lights came on.
Colm Conley
Even in of the popular Wilmington, Delaware.
Kevin Friel
Hangout, this place could be mobbed on a Friday.
Colm Conley
Happy hour owner Kevin Friel says Anne Marie stood out.
Kevin Friel
And I'd hear that laugh and I would know somewhere in the building, Annie's here.
Colm Conley
What was it about her laugh that everybody talks about?
Ann Marie Fahey
It was infectious.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
She really loved to laugh and she loved to make other people laugh.
Colm Conley
So few people ever guessed just how difficult her life had been. Ann Marie was only nine when her mother died of cancer.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
Our family life was difficult, you know, my mom dying and my dad died early and Ann Marie needed a lot of help, normal things, you know, getting college tuition together and things like that.
Colm Conley
Still, Ann Marie managed to graduate from college and land her dream job, scheduling secretary to the governor of Delaware.
Tom Capano
She was smart, she was so kind, she was perfect on her job.
Colm Conley
Everything seemed to be coming together when she met a young banking executive, Michael Scanlon. How serious was Anne Marie about it?
Ann Marie Fahey
She hoped to marry him. She told me he would be in her wedding party and she was head over heels with him. She really did love him.
Colm Conley
But what Kathleen didn't know was that her sister had a secret. A secret that was discovered only when Anne Marie failed to show up for a date with her boyfriend and vanished.
Ann Marie Fahey
Mike Scanlon called me around 9 o' clock that Saturday evening and said that she had missed a date with him. And that was just a trigger. I knew something was terribly wrong at that point.
Colm Conley
It was June 28, 1996. You didn't think she might have just taken off without telling anybody?
Ann Marie Fahey
No, that's just not the way Emory was. And I knew how she felt about Michael and she would not just break a date with him. So then he and I went over to her apartment. But as soon as we went in the apartment, it was obvious that she had not been there for a couple of days. We were there till six in the morning and looking for things and any traces of where Anne Marie might be.
Colm Conley
That's when they discovered what Ann Marie had concealed from her family for more than two years.
Ann Marie Fahey
I found a number of letters, notes that he had written.
Colm Conley
He was Tom Capano, a 46 year old married lawyer with four children.
Ann Marie Fahey
I knew that they were friends and I was alarmed. I kept calling my brother Robert in Philly.
Colm Conley
Ann Marie had met Capano at the governor's office.
Ann Marie Fahey
What do you know about this relationship? He said, oh, I think they're just friends, mentor type of thing. And these letters did not have that flavor.
Colm Conley
Even more disturbing for Kathleen was the discovery of Anne Marie's diary and the last entry. Tom Capano. What a controlling, manipulative, insecure, jealous maniac. She wrote that just two months before she disappeared.
Ann Marie Fahey
And it was troubling. I mean, I had read the last entry a number of times.
Colm Conley
She was incredibly close to her family, but she didn't tell anyone in her family about Tom Capano.
Tom Capano
She was ashamed. She was, you know, really a good Catholic. She said over and over in her diary, in her letters and to her friends. He's a married man with four children. I can't take a man away from his wife.
Colm Conley
The notes in the diary pointed investigators to Tom Capano, who told them that he had taken Anne Marie to dinner just a few nights earlier. But he insisted that he dropped her off afterwards, alive and well, here at her apartment. It was difficult at first to believe that a man like Tom Capano could have had anything to do with her disappearance. How would you have described him at that time, before all of this?
Ann Marie Fahey
Probably like most people in Wilmington would have back then. They used to say, you know, he's the nicest guy in the world.
Colm Conley
But the nicest guy in the world suddenly wasn't so accommodating to either the police or the Fahey family.
Ann Marie Fahey
I think Tom Capano did something to my sister.
Colm Conley
The Faheys refused to give up hope. A week after Anne Marie's disappearance, her friends and family organized a massive search. When no clues turned up, he had.
Ann Marie Fahey
To have had Some type of information that would have helped us.
Colm Conley
The faze again asked Capano to talk.
Ann Marie Fahey
To police and he chose not to do that. So it became very clear to us that he was obviously hiding something.
Colm Conley
Capano was hiding something, and it would take investigators months to discover what.
Jerry Capano
He thought he was going to get away with this.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
He definitely thought he was going to get away with it.
Colm Conley
Coming up. It's almost as if Tom Capano were a split personality. The many lives this guy was callous and loves. Do you still love him? Of Tom Capano.
Tom Capano
Having mistresses and controlling women was Tom Capano's avocation. I'm alone in my house tonight drinking a beer and listening to music. She writes. I have fallen in love with a very special person. T makes my heart smile. I love you till.
Colm Conley
Tom Capano was a magnetic, charming individual.
Debbie McIntyre
He had power, he had money, he had looks.
Colm Conley
It seems that just about everyone in Wilmington either knew Tom Capano or wished they did.
Ann Marie Fahey
He loved to help people.
Colm Conley
People who had Tom as a friend were very fortunate. As the oldest son of Italian immigrant parents, Tom was the achiever.
Kevin Friel
Tommy was always known as the good.
Colm Conley
Boy, a good student and athlete. Instead of going into the family construction business with his three brothers, Tom became a lawyer and a rising star in political circles.
Debbie McIntyre
They were actually considering him for a judgeship.
Colm Conley
Tom's brother in law, Lee Ramuno, he.
Debbie McIntyre
Was actually thinking about running for attorney general.
Colm Conley
But then 30 year old Amarie Fahey disappeared. What was your reaction when you first heard that Tom was the major suspect in the disappearance of Anne Marie Fahey, Tom's priest, Father Roberto Baldicelli.
Ann Marie Fahey
That was impossible that he could not be involved. Tom was somebody.
Colm Conley
Family friend, Phyllis Hines. He was a good husband, a good father, a family man and whatnot. But this family man, so devoted to his wife and four beautiful girls in public, was in fact leading a completely different life in private.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
He was involved with eight or nine women during a period of time.
Colm Conley
Delaware state prosecutor Ferris Wharton. While he was married.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
All of this was while he was married.
Colm Conley
Along with Anne Marie, there was also Debbie McIntyre, a 46 year old private school administrator whom Tom had been romantically involved with for over 15 years.
Debbie McIntyre
Debbie McIntyre was his wife's best friend.
Colm Conley
She will become more important to this story later on.
Tom Capano
Tom Capano was addicted to women and control.
Colm Conley
It is the secret womanizing Tom Capano that most fascinates crime writer Ann Rule.
Tom Capano
I think he's a complete narcissist. Cappiano had everything and yet nothing was ever enough.
Colm Conley
Anne has studied and written about over 1400 criminal cases, including that of serial killer Ted Bundy. But she has never encountered a man quite like Tom Capano.
Tom Capano
Having mistresses and controlling women was Tom Capano's avocation.
Ann Marie Fahey
It's unbelievable.
Colm Conley
Not only was Tom Capano seen Anne Marie Fahey and Debbie McIntyre at the same time, there was a third woman. Her name is Susan Louth. She has moved here to the Virgin Islands and until now, has never spoken publicly about her relationship with Tom Capano. What made you move here?
Ann Marie Fahey
You know, the newspapers, Everything was Capano Fahey. And it was just, you know, too much. It was just way too much for me to handle, so.
Colm Conley
Susan first met Tom Capano in 1995 at the Law office where they both worked.
Ann Marie Fahey
He was a giver, like a giver of himself.
Colm Conley
Susan says she started dating Tom after he left his wife and moved to this rented house. He's seen you. He was seeing Debbie McIntyre. He was seeing Annrie Fahey. He was still seeing his kids. How did he juggle all of this?
Ann Marie Fahey
I have no idea.
Colm Conley
Was he a guy who needed that kind of attention?
Ann Marie Fahey
He definitely needed to be needed.
Colm Conley
And Tom seemed to be exactly what Anne Marie needed when she first met him in early 1994.
Tom Capano
At first, he was the perfect lover.
Colm Conley
Tom wooed Ann Marie the way he wooed every woman. He whisked her out of town for intimate candlelit dinners.
Tom Capano
I have fallen in love with a very special person.
Colm Conley
He showered her with expensive gifts.
Tom Capano
I gave him my body and love.
Colm Conley
Ann Marie poured out her heart in her secret diary.
Tom Capano
I can't think of my life without him. How did I allow myself to fall in love with a married man?
Colm Conley
The fact that he was married was a definite problem area for her. Psychiatrist Dr. Neal Kay treated Anne Marie during the time she secretly dated Tom Capano. I'm not sure that she ever felt comfortable with it.
Tom Capano
She keeps Tommy very, very secret.
Colm Conley
And no one knew.
Tom Capano
No one knew.
Colm Conley
But in late 1995, everything in her life changed. Ann Marie met Michael Scanlon.
Kevin Friel
She first met him, and after about five minutes, she turned around and said to her girlfriends, he's not my type at all.
Colm Conley
Ofriel's bar owner Kevin was there that.
Kevin Friel
Night, and the next thing we know, they're always together.
Colm Conley
Michael Scanlon was Irish, Catholic, and best of all, single.
Tom Capano
When she met a real man who loved her and accepted her for herself was why would she want a Tom Capano?
Colm Conley
In fact, Anne Marie didn't want Capano. As far as Ann Marie was concerned, their romantic relationship was Over.
Tom Capano
She's really trying to pull away.
Colm Conley
In an email, she wrote, tommy, I.
Tom Capano
Meant what I said on Sunday night about right now only being able to offer you my friendship.
Colm Conley
In early 1996, the more he couldn't.
Tom Capano
Get her, the more he had to get her.
Colm Conley
Tom Capano began making harassing phone calls.
Tom Capano
And he called her like 25 times. Tommy, you scared me this weekend. It really freaks me out when you call every half hour.
Colm Conley
He began demanding the return of gifts. And he would show back up on her doorstep and take them or throw them around or break them. Finally, on April 7, 1996, she writes in her diary what she apparently couldn't tell Tom directly.
Tom Capano
I finally have brought closure to Tom Capano. What a controlling, manipulative, insecure, jealous maniac.
Colm Conley
But incredibly, Ann Marie continued to see Tom Capano as a friend.
Ann Marie Fahey
She was trying, in her own way.
Colm Conley
I think, to let him down easy.
Tom Capano
She was afraid he would tell Michael Scanlon that they'd had an affair.
Colm Conley
On the night of June 27, 1996, Anne Marie Fahey and Tom Capano had dinner.
Tom Capano
They went to the restaurant in Philadelphia.
Colm Conley
They left and returned to Capano's home.
Tom Capano
Tom Capano couldn't have her and he wasn't going to let another man have her.
Colm Conley
Ann Marie was never seen again.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
My hope was that he had somehow kidnapped her and was hiding her somewhere.
Colm Conley
Coming up.
Jerry Capano
The blood was right where we thought the blood would be. It was next to the new rug. He had some involvement in her disappearance.
Colm Conley
The case against Tom Capano.
Jerry Capano
Tom Capano is a guy who thinks he can get away with anything.
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Ann Marie Fahey
The air conditioning was running. There was food left out on the counter. Her bed was not made. And you knew that something terribly was wrong.
Colm Conley
Something was terribly wrong. 30 year old Anne Marie Fahey had vanished. And the man last to see her, 46 year old Thomas Capano, refused to help Ann Marie's family find her.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
My best hope was that he had somehow kidnapped her and was hiding her somewhere. But I just couldn't see the logic in that.
Colm Conley
What happened to Ann Marie may have remained a mystery, except for Colm Conley and his team of investigators.
Ann Marie Fahey
I truly believe that we had a number of gifts throughout this whole thing, and Colm Conley being one of them.
Jerry Capano
I just think she was very beautiful and I think that picture is the most beautiful picture of her.
Colm Conley
Colm Conley was the federal prosecutor assigned to the case.
Jerry Capano
I was 32 when the case started, 34 when it ended. All right, who wants to hit next?
Colm Conley
A family man himself.
Jerry Capano
The Faheys, when I first walked in to meet them, were a little taken aback by my age.
Colm Conley
Conley was determined to get answers for the Fahey family.
Jerry Capano
And you would see the frustration in their faces. You would see tears, despair. We really wanted to see justice done.
Colm Conley
But that wasn't going to be easy.
Jerry Capano
There's no witness, there's no weapon, there's no body. That's true.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
What he didn't count on was that the investigation took a different turn.
Jerry Capano
And we realized that if we launched a federal investigation, started looking at things like financial records, that we might be able to get somewhere.
Colm Conley
They discovered that Tom Capano had purchased a new rug just two days after Anne Marie disappeared. It was just what they needed to get a search warrant for Capano's rented house.
Jerry Capano
Tom Capano opened the door in his bathrobe. I think he was dismayed, to say the least. He just looked like. He looked like he had the wind knocked out of him.
Colm Conley
And once investigators were inside Capano's house, as you see here on evidence video, they found exactly what they were looking for.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
That's one of the blood spots. You can see how small that is.
Colm Conley
Investigators found blood.
Jerry Capano
The blood was right where we thought the blood would be, right here. Anne Marie's blood next to the new rug.
Colm Conley
In minute amounts, it's about 2 millimeters. It was lucky that you found this.
Tom Capano
Mm.
Jerry Capano
By that time, it was very apparent that he had some involvement in her disappearance.
Colm Conley
But even after finding Amarie's blood in Tom Capano's house. Prosecutors still couldn't arrest him. Why? Because they couldn't prove how that blood got here. They couldn't charge Capano with murder because they couldn't prove a murder had occurred. And so they kept on digging in his backyard.
Jerry Capano
We even brought out a dog at the end of the day, but we didn't find anything.
Colm Conley
And they didn't stop there. Acting on a tip that evidence had been discarded in Capano Co. Dumpsters, investigators spent days digging through the Wilmington dump.
Jerry Capano
It reeked, the smells were horrible.
Narrator
As.
Jerry Capano
They unearthed all this trash, and it was hot and muggy, and then it rained.
Colm Conley
Ever find the gun?
Jerry Capano
No.
Colm Conley
Ever find any of her belongings?
Jerry Capano
No.
Colm Conley
But in a town where nothing like this ever happens, investigators simply couldn't give up.
Jerry Capano
We had countless meetings at 10pm or 2am Whatever it took. I would just make it a point to get home, have dinner, and if I had to, go back to the office.
Colm Conley
It was when they began digging into Capano's past that investigators got another break. They found this man, Joe Riley, who told them about another woman Capano had become obsessed with 13 years before he met Anne Marie.
Ann Marie Fahey
The girl left him after him and her had a fight. And he says he loved the girl very, very much.
Colm Conley
Joe Riley, a former client of Capano's, is 80 years old and deaf. He's talking about Linda Marandola, a legal secretary who dated Tom Capano in 1981 and, like Anne Marie, tried to break it off. Did he also ask you to call Linda and harass her?
Ann Marie Fahey
Yes.
Colm Conley
Riley, a former FBI informant, taped some of the conversations. He claims that Capano hired him first to harass Marandola with phone calls.
Ann Marie Fahey
You want to forget about it? I can't. You can't forget about it. That's right.
Colm Conley
And later even talked about killing her.
Ann Marie Fahey
Do you want to go through phase two? Yeah. He was so mad at her, he wanted to have her killed. Killed? Killed. Run her down with a car.
Colm Conley
The plan to run her over with a car was never carried out. Riley says Capano changed his mind and backed out.
Kevin Friel
If his chain had been jerked back then, and he'd probably still be coming in here on Happy Hours on Friday.
Colm Conley
A number of influential people did know about the harassment, but it was kept quiet. And Tom Capano kept his job at a private law firm.
Jerry Capano
You've got a pattern here of somebody, Tom Capano, getting away with what most people would never get away with.
Colm Conley
To Colm Conley, it was proved that Tom Capan Capano was capable of murder.
Jerry Capano
And I believe that he killed her that night at his home.
Colm Conley
And how did he kill her?
Jerry Capano
I believe he shot her behind the ear.
Colm Conley
But believing it and proving it are two different things. And after a year and a half of work, investigators still didn't have enough evidence to arrest Tom Capano. How did he think he was going to get away with it?
Father Roberto Baldicelli
Well, he almost did. I mean, literally almost did.
Colm Conley
And he might have gotten away with it if investigators hadn't begun digging in a new place.
Jerry Capano
Tom Capano could not have physically gotten rid of a body by himself. We focused on his inner circle of friends and family.
Colm Conley
Coming up, the confession that forced Tom Capano to change his story.
Aaron Moriarty
Although public pressure for an arrest and the death of Anne Marie Fahey was mounting every day, prosecutors were moving cautiously, methodically gathering clues. They were convinced all along that Tom Capano was their man, but they were afraid that he would find a way to remain untouchable. Gradually, the investigators noose began to tighten around Capano's inner circle. And for all the clues they had to dig for, there was one stunning piece of evidence that simply surfaced. Here again, Aaron Moriar.
Tom Capano
He was getting ready to kill Anne Marie if and when she left him.
Colm Conley
Crime writer Ann Rule is convinced Tom Capano planned the murder.
Tom Capano
I don't think he knew the date, but he knew he was to going going to do it.
Colm Conley
More than a year after she vanished, there is still no trace of Anne Marie Fahey.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
There was no body. There were no witnesses. There wasn't a weapon. There was no physical evidence in her apartment.
Colm Conley
Life had seemingly returned to normal for Tom Capano.
Ann Marie Fahey
There were times when we never thought he was going to get arrested.
Colm Conley
The man Ann Marie's sister believed knew a lot more than he was saying.
Ann Marie Fahey
I guess he really never thought he was going to be caught.
Colm Conley
But if most people here in Wilmington thought Tom Capano's power and connections meant he'd never be charged with murder, prosecutors refused to give up. They went looking for his weak link, and they found it.
Jerry Capano
We thought that his brothers had some involvement, so we started to target them.
Colm Conley
Investigators turned to his brothers, focusing particularly on his kid brother, Jerry.
Tom Capano
Jerry's a playboy. He always had everything.
Colm Conley
Jerry, 14 years younger than Tom, was the most troubled. He had had run ins with the law and was a regular user of cocaine and marijuana.
Tom Capano
The three brothers did try to look after Jerry, but he was a wild one. He was overindulged.
Colm Conley
Investigators knew Jerry had been with Tom the day after Amory disappeared. But Jerry Wasn't anxious to testify against his brother.
Tom Capano
Oh, no. Because the rule with the Capano family was their family. You protect your family. And Jerry loved Tom.
Colm Conley
But investigators raided Jerry's Wilmington home, finding cocaine and weapons. Facing a long prison term, Jerry finally decided to talk. Jerry's tape confession to police tells a terrible tale. How he helped Tom take a large cooler containing the body of Anne Marie to Jerry's vacation home on the ocean. That's Tom capenna.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
Yeah.
Colm Conley
At 8:41 in the morning. They stopped along the way so Tom could get money. These pictures are from the cash machine he used.
Jerry Capano
Did you take the cooler onto your boat?
Colm Conley
Yes. Once on Jerry's boat, they headed due east, 60 miles to sea.
Jerry Capano
And then you turned around and what did you see? And was it a human foot?
Kevin Friel
Yes, it was.
Colm Conley
How did Tom fit the nearly six foot tall woman in the four foot long cooler?
Jerry Capano
We believe he broke her bones and he stuffed her in.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
When you're not concerned about causing somebody pain, you can manipulate them into different positions than you would if you were concerned about causing them pain.
Colm Conley
When the cooler tossed overboard wouldn't sink, Jerry told police he shot holes in it.
Jerry Capano
This is the shotgun that Jerry used to shoot the cooler.
Colm Conley
When the cooler still wouldn't sink, Tom dropped Anne Marie's body overboard.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
After they realized that the cooler was not going to sink, he took her out of the cooler and wrapped her in an anchor and some anchor chain.
Colm Conley
Jerry told investigators that the cooler, now filled with holes and missing a top, drifted out to sea. His confession finally gave prosecutors what they needed.
Kevin Friel
Wilmington attorney Thomas Capano heads to prison.
Colm Conley
Even as Tom Capano was arrested and taken away in handcuffs, we and her.
Ann Marie Fahey
Family are learning the horrifying alleged details.
Colm Conley
His lawyers ridiculed the statement made by his brother Jerry.
Ann Marie Fahey
He's somebody who is a known drug dealer and this is the person that comes forward to point a finger. So you have to take it for what it's worth in terms of credibility.
Colm Conley
But investigators were about to get more evidence.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
The cooler was never supposed to be found.
Colm Conley
A crucial piece of evidence that would confirm Jerry's story.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
The cooler was supposed to be on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Colm Conley
And they got it from a very unlikely Source.
Ann Marie Fahey
It was July 4, 1996. It began. Beautiful day. We caught a lot of fish that day.
Colm Conley
Fisherman Ken Chubb never knew Tom Capano, but news of his arrest made him and a friend of his, Ron Smith, remember a day more than a year earlier.
Ann Marie Fahey
Just never thought anything more about it until the day of the article in the newspaper.
Colm Conley
Ken Chubb had spent the day, July 4, 1996, fishing about eight miles off the Delaware coast. It was one week after Anne Marie had disappeared.
Ann Marie Fahey
About 3:30 in the afternoon. Somewhere around that time, my son Dave said, what's that floating over there?
Colm Conley
It was a cooler, a big cooler. The top was missing and there were two holes in the insulation. They looked like bullet holes.
Ann Marie Fahey
I patched the holes and took the lid off of mine and in one hand what was missing and put it on there. And I had a real nice.
Colm Conley
Neither fisherman thought any more about it until almost a year and a half later and they saw the news.
Ann Marie Fahey
I knew it was a cooler. I just knew it was. It started clicking in my head, you know, that the possibility that that was a cooler. My feeling is it was a divine intervention. I feel that that cooler was there for a purpose. I found it for a purpose. And the thought was put in Ron's mind for a purpose.
Kevin Friel
If you're a spiritual person, I think the real miracle in this whole incredible tragedy is the cooler.
Ann Marie Fahey
The cooler and the blood I think were both gifts from Ann.
Colm Conley
Prosecutors had Ann's blood in Tom Capano's house, Jerry's confession, and now the cooler evidence they would use to try to prove Tom killed Anne Marie.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
This was something that he had thought about for months and months and months.
Jerry Capano
This is a well thought out plan to get.
Colm Conley
That's what the prosecution would tell the court. But at trial, Tom Capano has a surprise for them.
Aaron Moriarty
There's another person who is fully cognizant of everything.
Colm Conley
Next, the shocking defense.
Ann Marie Fahey
The man I loved for many years, Tom Capano never existed.
Colm Conley
When 48 Hours continues.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
She broke my heart.
Narrator
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Tom Capano
Hi again.
Narrator
TV's quirkiest crime solver.
Colm Conley
I'm Elspeth Tasioni. I work with the police.
Narrator
It's on the case.
Tom Capano
I like my outlandish theories With a.
Narrator
Heavy dose of evidence and ready to go toe to toe with a cavalcade.
Colm Conley
Of guest stars are you saying that.
Ann Marie Fahey
This is now a murder investigation?
Colm Conley
It's starting to look that way.
Narrator
Don't miss a moment of the critically acclaimed hit Elsbeth.
Ann Marie Fahey
All episodes now streaming on Paramount and return cbs. That sounds like fun. Obviously, murder's not fun.
Jerry Capano
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.
Narrator
With the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile unlimited premium wireless.
Ann Marie Fahey
30.
Narrator
30. Better get 30.
Colm Conley
Better get 20.
Ann Marie Fahey
20. 20. Better get 20. 20. Better get 15.
Colm Conley
15, 15, 15.
Ann Marie Fahey
Just 15 bucks a month. Sold.
Jerry Capano
Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
Narrator
Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow. After 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com I've tried a lot.
Ann Marie Fahey
Of big cases all around the country and this is a feeding frenzy.
Aaron Moriarty
By the way, this is OJ Jr.
Colm Conley
It is the most notorious trial Wilmington, Delaware has ever seen.
Ann Marie Fahey
You know, we always said we were going to finish this for Anne Marie because she couldn't finish it for herself.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
It really became an exercise in figuring out how to. How to just get through the day.
Kevin Friel
This was Annie's last fight, and they weren't going to go anywhere until they wanted for her.
Colm Conley
More than two years after Ann Marie Fahey disappeared, Tom Capano finally has to face his accusers.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
We wanted the jury to see who this guy was.
Colm Conley
The prosecutors have proof of Amari's blood in Tom Capano's house. They have his brother Jerry's confession. And they have the cooler.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
This is not a one night accidental, panicky incident. This was a planned murder.
Colm Conley
And to help prove the murder was planned, they have evidence that just a month before Anne Marie died, Capano got a.22 caliber handgun like this one. I'm surprised by the size of that gun. I was taken aback when I first.
Jerry Capano
Saw that because it's so small. That's true. Although I think he knew he was going to shoot her from close range.
Colm Conley
Colm Conley never found the actual weapon, but his investigators did uncover a receipt for one.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
This is the receipt for the gun Debbie bought.
Colm Conley
Debbie is Debbie McEntire. Remember her? She was the woman Tom Capano secretly dated for more than 17 years and was still seen throughout his affair with Anne Marie. Did Ann Marie have any, any idea that Tom Was seeing Debbie McEntire?
Tom Capano
No.
Colm Conley
Did Debbie McEntire have any idea that Tom was seeing Anne Marie.
Tom Capano
No.
Colm Conley
Throughout the investigation.
Ann Marie Fahey
I love you. I love you, too.
Colm Conley
As these tape phone calls from jail show.
Ann Marie Fahey
I love you, too.
Colm Conley
Debbie McIntyre remained loyal to Tom Capano.
Jerry Capano
Debbie McIntyre he described as susceptible to manipulation.
Ann Marie Fahey
You love me enough to fight for me.
Jerry Capano
Weak.
Ann Marie Fahey
Please, I'm begging you.
Jerry Capano
Insecure. I need you to a doormat.
Ann Marie Fahey
It is hard to believe under the circumstances that I actually do love you. But I do.
Colm Conley
But facing possible criminal charges herself, Debbie turned state's witness.
Jerry Capano
We confronted her with the gun receipt, and within a month, we had reached a cooperation agreement with her.
Ann Marie Fahey
I told them that I bought it and I gave it to you. You wanted it and I gave it to you.
Colm Conley
Debbie McEntire admitted she bought the gun just one month before Anne Marie disappeared. But she claimed she bought it for Tom Capano.
Ann Marie Fahey
Why did you say such a thing? Because you did. How could you love me and then betray me? How could you do that? I didn't betray you. I told the truth. Don't say that one more time, Debbie. How could you do something, even without talking to me? We have made promises to each other. You're destroying me, Debbie. Do you know what they're gonna do with this? Let's go back to this gun.
Jerry Capano
No.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
No.
Ann Marie Fahey
No. No.
Colm Conley
No.
Ann Marie Fahey
Who made me give you the gun? No. No. No. No. No.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
No. No. No.
Kevin Friel
No.
Ann Marie Fahey
The man I love. For many years, Tom Capano never existed.
Colm Conley
When it was clear Debbie McIntyre would go ahead with her testimony.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
She broke my heart.
Colm Conley
Capano's lawyers dropped a bombshell.
Narrator
Shocking revelations today in the Thomas Capan tragic, horrible accident.
Aaron Moriarty
That's about all I can do.
Colm Conley
It was in this courtroom that Tom Capano finally admitted he knew what happened to Anne Marie Fahey. He even admitted he disposed of her body just as his brother said he did. But Capano told the jury that he didn't kill Anne Marie. He claimed Debbie McEntire did, that she had found Capano and Ann Marie together, had become upset, and while trying to commit suicide, Capano says McEntire accidentally shot and killed Anne Marie.
Debbie McIntyre
He tried to stop her and the gun went off.
Colm Conley
Tom's brother in law, Lee Ramuno.
Debbie McIntyre
I don't know why that's hard to believe.
Colm Conley
Capano took the stand for eight days to try to convince the jury that Debbie did it.
Ann Marie Fahey
His whole nature and personality became so clear up there.
Kevin Friel
He thought, I'm Tom Capano. I can control this courtroom. When I get done telling these people, they'll see it my way and I'll walk out of here. I wish everybody could have seen that manipulative evil on the witness stand.
Colm Conley
You call him evil?
Kevin Friel
Oh, God, yes.
Colm Conley
But nothing Capano told the jury spoke louder than this.
Jerry Capano
Ferris and I walked it out as if we were walking a coffin out of a church. He laid it in front of the jury. I think they were shell shock. I just think it really drove home the impact that somebody had been stuffed unceremoniously into a fish cooler. And that was a noise that resonated in the courtroom. The sound of the wooden handles against the side.
Father Roberto Baldicelli
It sort of riveted the case back where it belonged. And that was what happened to Annmarie Fahey. And this was her coffin.
Ann Marie Fahey
When that cooler was brought in the courtroom, it was very, very upsetting because that was the last place that Anne Marie was.
Colm Conley
The jury took three days to reach a verdict.
Kevin Friel
Jury walked in with such determination. Didn't look at anybody. It was so still. If a feather had hit the floor, you would have heard the reverberation. And it's one of the few times when they brought Capano into the courtroom that he looked scared.
Ann Marie Fahey
The foreman stood up. You could hear a pin drown. It's guilty of murder one for Thomas Capano.
Kevin Friel
And we heard this incredible roar back behind the courtroom.
Ann Marie Fahey
What you now hear is the crowd.
Aaron Moriarty
Cheering as various members of the Fahey.
Ann Marie Fahey
Family are now coming out. It's a hollow victory. Just because I'm. I'm sad because, I mean, we all miss Anne Marie and she's not coming home.
Colm Conley
The only question left, will it be.
Jerry Capano
Life or death for the convicted murderer?
Colm Conley
What happens to Tom Capano? Capano could receive life in jail without parole. That's next.
Narrator
Or he could receive the death penalty.
Colm Conley
That is by lethal injection.
Narrator
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Jerry Capano
Kyle W. East 10:31 of the most.
Colm Conley
Notorious murder trial is coming to an end. He was once a prominent lawyer on top of the world. March 16, 1999. Tom Capano took his last shackled walk into the Wilmington courthouse to learn his faith. Capano could receive life in jail or he could receive the death penalty. We'll bring you the decision just as soon as it's announced.
Aaron Moriarty
This is in special report.
Colm Conley
Convicted killer Thomas Capano now has a date with death.
Ann Marie Fahey
Death by lethal injection, death penalty.
Colm Conley
Read all about it.
Ann Marie Fahey
No comments.
Jerry Capano
Thanks a lot.
Colm Conley
Judge William Lee sentenced Tom Capano to die by lethal injection.
Jerry Capano
Tom Capano was a wealthy, well connected person who thought he was going to get away with murder.
Colm Conley
Capano's appeal to the United States Supreme Court was denied. But his new attorney says there are still other avenues to to challenge Capano's conviction and sentence. In the meantime, the man who once had Everything now spends 23 hours a day alone in a cell on death row.
Debbie McIntyre
It's devastating for his kids. It's devastating for his mother. It's devastating for my wife, his sister, everybody that knew and cared about him.
Colm Conley
Devastating and also hard to accept. For those who love Tom Capano.
Debbie McIntyre
I still think that he's a decent, honest person. I don't think he's a killer. I mean, that's that.
Ann Marie Fahey
I will never believe the pain from the whole trial. It's so incredibly bad.
Colm Conley
Remember Susan Low? She's Tom's former girlfriend who moved to the Virgin Islands to escape the scrutiny of the Capano trial. Do you still love him?
Ann Marie Fahey
The old one? I didn't know the person on trial.
Colm Conley
What do we take away from this whole tragedy?
Tom Capano
Oh boy. We learn that the handsomest, most beautiful gentle smiles can hide a monster behind the perfect mask. You see that lovely rose blossom of a face of Ann Marie. It really bothers me that she was treated so badly even after her death. And you think he threw her away.
Jerry Capano
And he knows we're never gonna find a body.
Colm Conley
Prosecutor Colm Conley, now the Delaware U.S. attorney had spent three years on the case. Hey, William.
Jerry Capano
I had two children born during the case, my wife and I did.
Colm Conley
He still has questions.
Jerry Capano
In the very end, the last 5% of the truth we would never get because there was only one person who could give that up and that was Tom Capano. And he was never gonna to tell us what really happened?
Colm Conley
The Faheys filed a civil suit against Tom Capano and were awarded an undisclosed settlement. Capano filed a suit of his own against Debbie McIntyre, saying if he's responsible for Anne Marie's death, so is McIntyre. He later dropped the suit. Whatever happened that night, Anne Marie Fahey is now gone forever.
Ann Marie Fahey
I would hope that people would remember Ann as a very loving person. Friends of Ann Marie, thank you for coming.
Colm Conley
Ann Marie is remembered every year at events that raise money for the charity established in her name. An annual run takes place in what was Anne Marie's favorite park.
Kevin Friel
Annie loved to run through the park here.
Colm Conley
And now the place to remember her.
Kevin Friel
Ann Marie's girlfriends dedicated a bench to her.
Colm Conley
This is it.
Jerry Capano
This is it.
Colm Conley
And without a body for burial, this.
Kevin Friel
Is the closest to something tangible to have and touch. To remember her by.
Colm Conley
Anne Marie Sinead Thay.
Kevin Friel
It's a beautiful spot. You got the river right there.
Tom Capano
I'm alone in my house tonight, drinking a beer and listening to music.
Ann Marie Fahey
Now I think about every day. I talk to her in my head every day.
Colm Conley
Her sister Kathleen can only wonder what might have been.
Ann Marie Fahey
I think she'd be married and if not having had a child, definitely wouldn't like to have one.
Crime Writer Ann Rule
You know, she had her own style. She was very funny.
Ann Marie Fahey
And you would hear that laugh. I'd still hear that laugh.
Colm Conley
Can't you still hear it?
Crime Writer Ann Rule
Oh, yeah. She just let loose.
Ann Marie Fahey
She was great with children. She just had a very gentle, kind way about her, and she's truly missed by many.
Aaron Moriarty
Throughout the investigation, Capano blasted prosecutors for being, quote, overzealous. But they stood their ground, building their case piece by little piece, even under intense public pressure to make an arrest. For some, the proverbial wheels of justice may have turned too slowly. But the results in this instance should bolster confidence in the American system of justice. In a small state, one man with a big reputation and enormous influence was not above the law. He thought he could get away with murder. He was wrong.
Narrator
In 2006, Tom Capano's death sentence was overturned. He died of a heart attack five years later while serving a life sentence.
Ann Marie Fahey
He was 60. One.
Jerry Capano
One.
Tom Capano
911.
Ann Marie Fahey
Six emergency. Yes.
Colm Conley
Somebody told you, girl.
Aaron Moriarty
My grandbaby.
Kevin Friel
A Paramount plus original.
Ann Marie Fahey
She wants to find more young women for him to kill. The untold stories of the real cases. Each one he gets away with, he's emboldened the FBI can't shake. It's very sad. Satisfying to be able to look at a bad guy and go, we never forgot you. An all new season of FBI True.
Kevin Friel
Streaming now on Paramount.
Narrator
Summer is heating up. The Chi is back on Paramount. It's the season of the women.
Ann Marie Fahey
This is our chance. It's time to get to work.
Narrator
But the men aren't giving up without a fight. The Chi New season now streaming on the Paramount with Showtime plan.
48 Hours Podcast Summary: "Deadly Attraction"
Episode Overview
Title: Deadly Attraction
Release Date: June 11, 2025
Host/Author: CBS News’ 48 Hours
Description: This episode delves into the chilling case of Thomas J. Capano, a prominent lawyer who appeared to have it all but orchestrated the disappearance and murder of Anne Marie Fahey. Through meticulous investigation, gripping interviews, and critical evidence, "Deadly Attraction" unravels the complexities of deceit, obsession, and justice.
Opening Scenario
The episode opens with a snapshot of Tom Capano’s seemingly perfect life. At 46, he was a wealthy, connected lawyer with political aspirations and a charming demeanor. However, beneath this façade lay a dark secret—his involvement in the disappearance of his employee, Anne Marie Fahey.
Key Quotes:
Early Life and Career
Thomas J. Capano was raised as the eldest son of Italian immigrant parents. Unlike his brothers, who entered the family construction business, Tom pursued a career in law, quickly ascending to prominence in Delaware's legal and political circles. His charm and success made him a well-respected figure in Wilmington.
Personal Life
Tom was married with four children, yet he led a double life, engaging in numerous extramarital affairs. His relationships were marked by manipulation and control, traits that would later surface during the investigation.
Key Quotes:
Anne Marie’s Profile
Anne Marie Fahey was a 30-year-old scheduling secretary to the Governor of Delaware. Described as exceptionally beautiful and vivacious, she was beloved by her family and friends. Despite her outward happiness, Anne Marie struggled with personal hardships, including the loss of her parents.
The Relationship with Tom Capano
Anne Marie met Tom Capano at the governor's office, developing a secret romantic relationship. Despite knowing Tom was married, Anne Marie felt deeply connected to him, as evidenced by her heartfelt diary entries.
Key Quotes:
Initial Clues
On June 28, 1996, Anne Marie failed to show up for a date with her boyfriend, prompting concern. Her sister, Kathleen, and family friend, Jerry Capano, discovered disturbing signs in Anne Marie’s apartment—overturned furniture, missing personal items, and alarming diary entries referencing Tom Capano.
Tom Capano as a Suspect
Letters and diary entries revealed Anne Marie's troubled relationship with Tom. Despite his initial denial, suspicions began to mount as investigators found Anne Marie's blood in Tom’s rented home alongside a newly purchased rug, implicating him further.
Key Quotes:
Gathering Evidence
Federal prosecutor Colm Conley spearheaded the investigation, uncovering a pattern of Tom’s manipulative relationships with multiple women. The discovery of Anne Marie's blood and the confession from Tom’s brother, Jerry Capano, who revealed the disposal of Anne Marie’s body in a cooler, were pivotal.
Key Evidence:
Trials and Testimonies
During the trial, Tom Capano attempted to shift blame to Debbie McIntyre, another of his long-time affairs. However, compelling evidence, including Jerry’s confession and the recovered cooler, solidified the prosecution’s case against him.
Key Quotes:
Jury’s Decision
After intense deliberation, the jury found Tom Capano guilty of murder. The discovery of Anne Marie’s blood and the cooler were instrumental in the jury’s decision.
Sentencing
Judge William Lee sentenced Tom to die by lethal injection. Despite appeals, Capano remained on death row until his death from a heart attack in 2006.
Impact on the Community and Family
The Fahey family, while attaining a sense of closure, continued to mourn Anne Marie’s loss. Memorials and annual events honor her memory, ensuring that her story remains a poignant reminder of the case.
Key Quotes:
Lessons Learned
"Deadly Attraction" underscores the facade that individuals can present to the world, masking their true, often sinister nature. It highlights the relentless pursuit of justice by dedicated investigators and the profound impact such cases have on families and communities.
Final Reflections:
Conclusion "Deadly Attraction" is a compelling exploration of a high-profile murder case, showcasing the intricate dance between a charismatic perpetrator and the determined pursuit of truth by law enforcement. Through expert storytelling and in-depth analysis, the episode honors Anne Marie Fahey’s memory and reinforces the resilience of the justice system.