← Going West: True Crime
Going West: True Crime
Simeonette Mapes-Crupi // 519
00:48:54
In July of 2012, a beloved high school teacher was found murdered inside her Staten Island home. Although it was initially believed to be a home invasion gone wrong, the scene left behind raised immediate questions with investigators. And a daunting four-month investigation would reveal family secrets that someone was fighting desperately to suppress - leaving a shocking trail of evidence in the form of Google searches and burner phone calls. This is the murder of Simeonette Mapes-Crupi.
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- [00:00]
Teeth
The McDonald's Snack Wrap is back. You brought it back. Ranch Snack Wrap, Spicy Snack Wrap. You broke the Internet for a snack? Snack wrap is back.
- [00:15]
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- [00:46]
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- [01:22]
Teeth
What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host Teeth.
- [01:25]
Daphne
And I'm your host Daphne and you're.
- [01:27]
Teeth
Listening to Going West.
- [01:29]
Daphne
Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Big shout out to everybody who has been supporting my debut thriller novel Night. It is so nice to see all the comments and people going and picking up the book after our last episode, the Hiding Man Anatomy of a Serial Killer.
- [01:45]
Teeth
Yeah, that was such a fun episode to do. We don't often do episodes like that but just being able to break down the specifics and the data on how to profile a serial killer. And also I must say that we did a little bit of an interview with Daphne at the end of that episode so make sure you go check it out.
- [02:04]
Daphne
Yeah, it was very special. Well for today's case I stumbled upon this story a while back and I just could not believe like the ridiculousness of it all and how this incredible woman was murdered and why. There will be a lot of facepalming on your guys behalf today and ours. Honestly.
- [02:24]
Teeth
Yeah, there is a big piece of shit involved in this episode. As there always is.
- [02:30]
Daphne
As there always is. So true. Well, without further ado.
- [02:33]
Teeth
Alright guys, this is episode, episode 519 of Going West. So let's get into it.
- [03:29]
Daphne
In July of 2012, a beloved 29 year old Heidi, school teacher, was found murdered inside her Staten island home. Although it was initially believed to be a home invasion gone wrong, the scene left behind raised immediate questions with investigators. A daunting four month investigation would reveal family secrets that someone was fighting desperately to suppress, leaving a shocking trail of evidence in the form of Google searches and burner phone calls. This is the murderer of Simonette Mapes. Croupy Simonette May Tips was born on September 25, 1982 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to parents Teresa and John. Alongside her older brother, whose name was also John and John, her brother was fiercely protective of his little sister, calling her Sissy. We're going to read some quotes today and he's always calling her Sissy. And this is a nickname that really stuck with her for her entire life. Their mom, Teresa, claims that the siblings were best friends and that even after Simonette moved out of the house, they would talk on the phone every single day. So they had this great and very lasting sibling bond. Now, although she was born in the Southwest, her family's roots were in New York City with a very large and close knit Italian family on Staten Island. But because John, you know, father John was in the military, they moved around quite frequently, sometimes as soon as 18 months after settling down somewhere. But even with all the moving, most of Simonette's childhood was spent in Florida and multiple parts of New York before they decided to put roots down in Staten island to be closer to that extended family I was just talking about there on the island. And Simonette was absolutely elated by this move and she assimilated into life there immediately. She really excelled while attending Fort Hamilton High School and was known for her humility, despite being a very sharp student. She graduated honors and then accepted a summer job teaching special needs kids and really felt that she had found her calling there. So she enrolled in the education program of the College of Staten Island, Willowbrook. And it was while attending college there that her friend introduced her to Jonathan Croupy, who was also pursuing a teaching degree. So, you know, off the bat, they have some things in common meaning. Naturally, their connection was instantaneous. And after their first date, her mom, Teresa, recalls Simonette telling her that this was gonna be something special and that she was smitten.
- [06:48]
Teeth
So at the beginning of her relationship with Jonathan, Simonette was still living at home with her parents in order to save money. Remember, you know, she's still in college at this point. But as the relationship between her and Jonathan grew more serious, she floated the idea to them about possibly moving into the Mapes separate basement apartment. So Jonathan's family home. But her parents really weren't sure how they felt about this and actually just hoped that he would commit to marrying her first. So instead, Jonathan wound up moving in with them and the pair were engaged that Christmas. So obviously, you know, having this opportunity to live with Jonathan, the family developed a really close relationship with him and even eventually thought of him like a son. So everybody was happy here. And her parents held a massive engagement party celebrating their future together and a year later held Simonette's dream wedding. Teresa claims that her daughter was glowing on that day and that she had never seen her so happy and that everything was kind of just falling into place for her. Still only in their mid-20s at this point, the two decided to hold off on having kids just yet, and Simonette focused on advancing her career. Instead. She landed a job teaching social studies at School for Classics High School, which is in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. And she absolutely loved her students. I mean, she was a gifted educator and all of her students adored her right back. And I don't mean gifted like she was a fun teacher who knew how to connect with her students. Her mom, Teresa, proudly remembers that Simonette's students scored so high on the ACT that they were accused of cheating and forced to retake the test with security watching. But really, Simonette was just a great teacher who knew how to prep them. And she was so beloved by her students that they actually called her Mommy Mapes. So she quickly cemented her legacy there by running a leadership club for teenage girls, as well as founding the Fairy Godmother project, which would provide prom dresses for girls whose families just couldn't afford.
- [08:55]
Daphne
To buy them, which is seriously so amazing.
- [08:58]
Teeth
I mean, Simonette's uncle Anthony remembers, quote, 15 kids couldn't afford caps and gowns for graduation. She paid for it out of her own pocket. She was just the sweetest angel on earth. She was just a 29 year old kid who loved life.
- [09:14]
Daphne
Well, Jonathan, by contrast, was struggling to find placement as a teacher, which led to the revelation of a massive lie that he had told Simonette. He had never actually completed his teaching certification because he had failed his exam. So he lied to her about becoming a teacher, and not just to his wife. But he had been keeping this from everybody in his life because he was so embarrassed. The cost to retake the certification course would have been around $25,000, which is insane. And actually, Simonette took on the burden of paying this for him when he was cleared to start teaching. Simonette begged her school to take her husband on as a teacher and they did so. Simonette is single handedly carving out a career for her husband. With their relationship and careers mostly back on track, she and Jonathan decided to go for their master's degrees which is a requirement in New York State within five years of gaining your teaching certification. Together they enrolled in Simonette alma mater the College of Staten Island, Willowbrook and she once again made the honor roll while completing her Master's. In the summer of 2012. The croupies were enjoying their life with their two dogs whom Simonette loved as if they were her kids, like a lot of us who have dogs, alongside of course her students. So that summer she kept busy volunteering for the ASPCA and a cancer research foundation. But she and Jonathan were kind of beginning to discuss starting their own family together though that year they were both teaching summer school as well at School for Classics so they were very busy with work too. They also had plans to head to Disney World which was like Simonette's favorite place. And that was gonna happen. The week after the summer session concluded on July 4, 2012, the family was all together for Independence Day at Simonette's parents house to celebrate the holiday. But 29 year old Simonette claimed that she wasn't feeling well and headed home for the night around 6:30pm later that night Teresa called her daughter to check on her and claimed that Simonette had been crying. So alarmed she made her daughter promise that she would go to the doctor in the morning if she was still feeling ill and Simonette agreed. But the next day she was dead. And just in case I forget to say this later, I can't help but feel like Simonette wasn't actually feeling ill and that she wasn't crying because she wasn't feeling well. I think it was because of some turmoil with Jonathan.
- [12:08]
Teeth
Yeah, I mean as we know the next day she's gonna end up dead. So it does very much feel like there was some turbulence going on between them the night before. I mean obviously not to spoil anything.
- [12:21]
Daphne
Here, I mean I think we all know where this is going but there are a lot of surprises ahead.
- [12:27]
Teeth
So on the morning of July 5, 2012, 30 year old Jonathan headed out to run some errands, returning early that afternoon. And when he entered the home he claimed that he found Simonette at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood, frantically phoning 91 1. He told the operator, I just came home, my wife is dead. Oh my God. I think my house was Robbed. Now, their neighbor, who actually heard this commotion, stepped outside to find Jonathan yelling, quote, they killed her. They killed her.
- [13:02]
Daphne
I'm sure a lot of your minds are flashing to the Michael and Kathleen Peterson case, but this is where they differ, because he comes home, you know, apparently none the wiser to the fact that she's dead or how she died. Yet he is, for some reason, like, going to the idea that it was an intruder, when with a fall down the stairs, one would probably assume accident.
- [13:27]
Teeth
I mean. Yeah, yeah.
- [13:28]
Daphne
Which is what Michael Peterson had said about his wife. So this is very odd right off.
- [13:33]
Teeth
The bat and from what we're gonna talk about, I mean, there are some things that are tipped over inside the house. There's a little bit of a ruckus inside the house, so. Or ruckus. That's not what I meant to say. But anyway, you know, there's a scene here. So it's very clear that either he knows exactly how that whole scene was created or, you know, he's just assuming upon walking in the door. And by the way, he was telling everybody this because within minutes, Teresa received a distraught voicemail from Jonathan. Through sobs, he told her, oh, my God, Teresa, pick up your phone. It's Simonette. It's an emergency. The house was robbed. Oh, my God, please call me back. Confused, she did call Jonathan back, fearing the worst, but all he could do was mutter sorry repeatedly before breaking the news that her 29 year old Simonette was dead. So Simonette's family raced to the scene to find out more, but were not permitted to see her yet, just because the investigation was unraveling. And for reference, by the way, on the day of Simonette's death, she and Jonathan were just two days away from their fifth wedding anniversary. That day, the couple's home in New Springville and central Staten island was cordoned off to commence the investigation, with police cars circling and helicopters hovering overhead in an attempt to find the person who supposedly fled the home after this heinous attack.
- [15:00]
Daphne
Yeah, because they're just believing what Jonathan is saying, that they're, you know, they have to do their due diligence as somebody. Somebody saying that somebody broke in, there was a robbery. They have to make sure that is not true or see if it is true.
- [15:13]
Teeth
And of course, you know, because of that, Jonathan was brought in for questioning immediately, despite his apparent devastation at the horrific turn of events. But by the time he reached the police station for his interrogation, he was described by officers as numb and even calm. So Jonathan claimed that he left the house that morning shortly after 7am to run some errands and that Simonette had stayed behind. Then he stopped by the school, supposedly to pick up a few books for himself and Simonette, and then he had his car worked on before heading to Home Depot.
- [15:50]
Daphne
At 10:06am, he texted Simonette, almost done here at work, then getting the car inspected, but she didn't respond. So he dropped the car off and walked to a shoe store to peruse. While the car was being looked at, he then claimed to have stopped at Home Depot and texted Simonette again to ask her opinion on what color paint to pick up and remember this. But when he didn't hear a response, he headed home, finding Simonette as soon as he arrived. Inside, the house had supposedly been burglarized, right? So it was left in utter shambles. However, investigators noted that it felt staged to them because inside there were blank checkbooks, credit cards, cash, and Simonette's engagement ring, which had all been left undisturbed. The only door left open was the sliding glass door on the ground level. And though it was open, it wasn't broken and it bore no signs of a break in. So automatically her family kind of wondered if this had anything to do with Jonathan's side business, kind of like side hustle thing, selling high end streetwear sneakers, and if maybe he had been targeted because he had a closet full of them upstairs. But again, it didn't look like anything was missing, but instead ransacked and left while an investigation was opened. Quietly, Jonathan and the Mapes family mourned Simonette's loss, holding a funeral that was attended by hundreds, including of course, many of her students, all of whom said that she had changed their lives. Because Simonet, as we know, had flourished as a teenager there despite the challenges that the school faced. Because the School for Classics is known for serving underprivileged youth, actually 92% of the students are economically disadvantaged. There were also known gang members in the student body, and after her memorial service, her family reflected that she had students who were members of both the Bloods and the Crips in attendance. John remembered during Sissy's burial, a mother of a student came up to us and said that these students of Sissy's traveled two or more hours to give their respects. She pointed out one group of kids and said they were Bloods, and then pointed to another group and said those are the Crips. Only Cissy could bring these two gangs together and there be no violence. The mother said, this is the impact your daughter Made in our lives. They came here in peace. With love and respect for your daughter, you will not see these two groups ever do that again. Well, just a week before her murder, Simonette and Jonathan actually witnessed a drive by shooting. And here's what happened. So on June 28, 2012, shots rang out on the same block as the school as they walked to their car to head home from, you know, day of teaching summer school. Both of them were understandably rattled by this, and Simonette even spoke out about it on social media. So, of course, some speculated after her murder that maybe the two incidents were connected and that she was silenced for seeing something that she shouldn't have seen.
- [19:16]
Teeth
Well, according to Simonette's autopsy, she had either fallen or been pushed down the stairs. But on top of that, guys, she had been stabbed 15 times in the torso. So this was definitely not an accidental fall. And Jonathan's claims of an outside force being involved was very clear. But the murder weapon was never found. Though Jonathan portrayed his wife's murder as a crime of opportunity, this had all the typical markers of a crime of passion. So detectives began digging to prove that there was evidence that called Jonathan's account of events into question. In tracking his movements throughout the day, investigators found that he could be seen on security footage inside the school. He was also pictured at the auto body shop and the shoe store. But when detectives pulled footage from the home depot, Jonathan was nowhere to be seen. Like, they couldn't even see his car in the parking lot. So as they begin to poke holes in Jonathan's retelling of the day of his wife's murder, investigators made a very startling discovery in the search of the couple's home. They found Jonathan's green gym bag in a coat closet. And inside was a burner phone and his school laptop.
- [20:37]
Daphne
This part is really important.
- [20:40]
Teeth
Yes, it is. Now, both were searched extensively, and the contents were completely damning. But even more suspicious was the fact that Jonathan had the bag with him at school that day, per security camera footage. And when the gym bag was taken from the closet by investigators at the crime scene, Simonette's body had already been moved from the floor in front of the coat closet, which was her final resting place. And now, obviously, some of you guys can already guess. But this meant that in order for the bag to be concealed inside, by the time police arrived at the residence, Jonathan would have had to move Simonette's lifeless body out of the way to stash that gym bag inside.
- [21:34]
Daphne
Foreign.
- [21:39]
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- [23:44]
DSW
What does possibility mean to you?
- [23:47]
Daphne
That's a hard question.
- [23:48]
Teeth
Something that you can strive for.
- [23:50]
DSW
I'm able to do anything I set my mind to. You're confident in yourself and you believe in yourself. Stuff that you could achieve. I feel at Saira anything is possible.
- [24:00]
Daphne
When you're more confident.
- [24:01]
Teeth
Shoes are a huge part of that. They are the most important part of my style.
- [24:06]
DSW
You can like express yourself in the right shoes. Anything is possible.
- [24:09]
Daphne
DSW countless shoes at bragworthy prices. Imagine the possibilities well, just as incriminating as the placement of the gym bag were its contents. Now, Heath just told us that there was a burner phone in that bag. But on the burner phone were six calls to unknown numbers on the morning of Simonette's murder.
- [24:42]
Teeth
Huh. Wonder who Jonathan is calling.
- [24:45]
Daphne
Well, I'll tell you, because interestingly, detectives were able to trace these back to sex workers. So around the time that Simonette was believed to have been murdered, Jonathan was basically scrambling to arrange a tryst with a sex worker in the midst of his errands. And just as damning were his cell phone records. According to Jonathan, he had left for his errands just after 7am on the morning of July 5th. And this burner phone made a call to a sex worker at 8:45am which pinged off the same cell tower as the call that he made to 911 at 1:42pm to report his wife's murder. Which just proves that he had lied significantly about the timing of his movements that day. Because that would mean that at 8:48am when he's calling the sex worker, he's home. He's not away on his errands like he said he was.
- [25:43]
Teeth
Yeah, he was supposed to be gone after 7am but it appears he wasn't.
- [25:48]
Daphne
So that means that while his wife lay lifeless in their home, Jonathan paid $300 to meet up with a woman at a local motel who called herself Miss Pumpkin.
- [26:00]
Teeth
What the fuck? Miss Pumpkin?
- [26:02]
Daphne
Yeah, we're gonna refer to her as Miss Pumpkin throughout the rest of this episode. So this rendezvous coincided with the time that he claimed to be at Home Depot. So he's texting his wife about paint to set up, you know, like an alibi at Home Depot while he's stepping out on her with another woman. And this phone number matched Ms. Pumpkin's advertisement on the now defunct adult website backpage.com. on August 15, 2012, detectives set up a meeting with her under the guise of hiring her as a sex worker. And when they were able to speak with her to get some info on her meetup with Jonathan, she divulged everything she had come to know about him as a client. Because guess what? That wasn't the first time they got together. He had been seeing Ms. Pumpkin for two years, and she knew him as Mike. Remember, his name is Jonathan. So of course he's giving her a fake name. On the day of Simonette's murder, the pair arranged to meet up at 12:45pm when he was supposedly at Home Depot looking At paint samples for Simonette, Ms. Pumpkin offered up her DNA to test against DNA found at the house because she's saying, I had no part in this murder. I was just taking him on as a client, as I have been for two years, but nothing more. But surprisingly, her DNA was present at their home, and it was actually found alongside Jonathan's on that sliding glass door, the one that happened to be the only open door at the scene of the murder.
- [27:47]
Teeth
So, of course, naturally, investigators entertained the idea that Ms. Pumpkin herself might be involved. But based on her cooperation, they acknowledged that she likely wasn't. And instead, Ms. Pumpkin admitted to having visited the residence on house calls when Simonette was not present in the home.
- [28:07]
Daphne
So she had been to their house before, which is wild.
- [28:10]
Teeth
Yeah. It wasn't just Jonathan taking her to a motel room. She was there inside their house when Simonette was not there. But on July 5, the day of Simonette's murder, Ms. Pumpkin's phone didn't ping anywhere near the home, and it was confirmed that she met with Jonathan at a motel instead. Detectives believe that Jonathan still had her DNA on him when he returned to stage the scene of the robbery, which included opening the sliding glass door to make it look like, you know, somebody had entered through it, which is so.
- [28:42]
Daphne
Wild that her DNA was left behind, even if she wasn't there. Like, that's crazy.
- [28:47]
Teeth
Well, what's even more shocking is Investigators found Ms. Pumpkin's phone number in Simonette's phone, which basically confirmed to them that Simonette was aware that Jonathan was being unfaithful in December of 2011. So about seven months before her death, Simonette searched Ms. Pumpkin's phone number in Google and also saved it in her contacts under the name woman.
- [29:12]
Daphne
I kind of love that woman. And remember, by this time, Jonathan had been seeing this woman for about a year and a half. So it took about a year and a half for her to realize what was happening. And now she's kind of, like, investigating Ms. Pumpkin.
- [29:24]
Teeth
Exactly. Well, also, on that same day, she made two quick calls to Ms. Pumpkin and then used her work computer to search marital separation. Then, on April 19, 2012, Simonette placed another call to Ms. Pumpkin's phone. And this time, the call lasted three. Three minutes. And just 45 minutes after that, Jonathan called her. So it kind of. It kind of seems like Simonette was trying to, in a way, confront Ms. Pumpkin. And then Jonathan found out about this and was like, why the hell would you do that?
- [29:59]
Daphne
It's kind of crazy when you think as well, that he is reaching out to all these sex workers, but there's this, at least this one that he is seeing consistently, which really feels like true infidelity. It's not like he's just trying to sleep with random women. Like he is seeing. He's like re offending with the same woman over and over again for so long. Which is just so interesting because she's a sex worker. It's not like it's his, you know, friend or some gal he met at a bar. It's like he's literally hiring her over and over again.
- [30:29]
Teeth
And I feel so sad for Simonette and her family because they really trusted Jonathan. Like Simonette did so much for him, helping so much, helping him get through school and obtain his degree, you know, all of these things. And they just thought the world of him. Like, like we said earlier, her family really looked at Jonathan like he was their son.
- [30:50]
Daphne
Oh yeah, exactly. Well, you're just telling us about this call that Simonette made to Ms. Pumpkin on April 19, that was about three minutes long. Well, a couple weeks later, on May 3, 2012, so still about two months before Simonette's murder, Jonathan actually activated a new burner phone and texted his address to another sex worker, telling her where to park covertly near his home. It's, it's also just wild to me that he's actually doing this in his freaking house, you know, when, while Simonette is busy working and going on with her life, like he's just being sneaky and having sex with other women, probably in their bed, you know.
- [31:32]
Teeth
Oh, absolutely. He was definitely doing that. I mean, this guy is such a piece of, piece of shit. Wow. I stumbled on piece of shit. That's never happened before.
- [31:39]
Daphne
So angry.
- [31:40]
Teeth
I'm so angry that Jonathan is just such, he's just such a bad person, you know?
- [31:46]
Daphne
Truly. Well, prosecutor Wanda d' Olivier claimed that at this point, quote, we had found out that he was a horrible husband and a horrible person. But we didn't have an eyewitness. We, we didn't have a murder weapon. And this is very reminiscent of Scott Peterson. For anybody who thinks that Scott Peterson, I know we're talking about both Peterson's today, but anybody who thinks that Scott Peterson or anybody like him is innocent of murder but guilty of infidelity. So they're kind of saying, we know he's unfaithful, we know that he's a.
- [32:18]
Teeth
Piece of shit, but is he a murderer?
- [32:21]
Daphne
Exactly. Well, Simonette's mom Teresa was able to confirm the suspicions of law enforcement that Simonette had confided in her that her husband Jonathan was pretty much leading a double life.
- [32:34]
Teeth
So she knew all about this.
- [32:36]
Daphne
Yeah, which was great because obviously we can't ask Simonette. So luckily her mom was able to share some behind the scenes info there, because here's the thing, not only was Jonathan cheating on her with sex workers, but his career was really circling the drain. Like everything in his life really feels like a lie.
- [32:54]
Teeth
Honestly, it is. He is. Like just with the, the teaching degree and all that stuff, I mean, you just keep uncovering secrets about how horrible this guy is and just how shitty his life is.
- [33:06]
Daphne
And it wasn't just the, the teaching certification that he had lied about years prior. But Jonathan had never even enrolled in his master's degree program like he told Simonette he would. And again, that she paid for him to do. They were supposed to do this together.
- [33:22]
Teeth
But get this next part, guys, because this is going to piss you off.
- [33:26]
Daphne
Yeah, he pocketed that tuition money that Simonette gave him, which I'm sure was a lot of money. And he would use the time while she was still in class, you know, making the honor roll, or maybe when she was volunteering, you know, again, she's out here doing all this amazing stuff and instead of being in class, he would say he was in class, but he was actually just meeting up with sex workers. In their four plus years of marriage, Teresa guessed that Jonathan had spent about $50,000 of Simonette's money on outings at strip clubs and appointments with sex workers.
- [34:06]
Teeth
I can't hate this guy anymore.
- [34:07]
Daphne
Like what? You're kidding. She later said very resentfully, understandably, quote, we found out there was a strip joint right next door to school. That's where Jonathan spent most of his day. So they would like go to school together and then he would sneak off to the strip club.
- [34:24]
Teeth
Yeah, he's playing like this weird Ferris Bueller's Day off type of deal. Yes, but he's just going to the fucking strip club.
- [34:30]
Daphne
So creepy, creepy behavior, honestly. Well, Ms. Pumpkin later testified against him and claimed that in one of their subsequent meetings, Jonathan asked her if she had heard about the murdered teacher from Staten Island. So they're like, he's paying her, they're hooking up. And then he's saying, oh, did you hear about that woman? And she said, don't tell me that was your wife. And Jonathan said, they killed my wife.
- [34:55]
Teeth
So he's bringing up this nonchalantly, completely out of the blue to a sex worker that he's hooking up with that is the weirdest thing you could possibly do.
- [35:06]
Daphne
It's weird. I'm like, did you want to talk about it? Did you want attention? Do you want sympathy? Like, what is your motive there? Or is it almost like he kind of. I mean, he, in a way, has a relationship with this woman, even though to her this is her job to him. They've been seeing each other for a while. They know each other to a degree at least. I don't know how much they spoke.
- [35:25]
Teeth
But I think it was more about his ego and the fact that he kind of wanted to soft brag that he had done this, but. Oh, but did you hear about that? Well, I didn't do it, but, you know, somebody else did. It is very weird.
- [35:37]
Daphne
Ugh. Well, as we know, Simonette had apparently begged the school to give Jonathan a teaching position. Like I said, she's, like, carving out a life for this man. But she did so under the guise that he, too, would be getting his master's degree. Right? Which again, was a New York State requirement to maintain his job. But because he never obtained said master's degree, shortly before Simonette's murder, Jonathan apparently received this ultimatum from the school to either complete his master's or quit. They're like, hey, you haven't done this yet, buddy. And it's quite literally the law.
- [36:14]
Teeth
Yeah, we don't have a choice. This is the law. You have to do it.
- [36:17]
Daphne
Yeah, what are you. What are you going to do? But obviously, completing a master's program takes years. So if. If that kind of ultimatum window would have let up, like, he would have just gotten fired, and then he would have really nothing.
- [36:31]
Teeth
Well, here's the thing. If he had even just tried and even just got into the classes and worked on it, I'm sure the school would have been lenient with him and said, hey, we know that you're working towards it. You can, you know, stay here and continue to work. But we know Jonathan was not gonna do that.
- [36:47]
Daphne
What a sad and despicable snapshot of this guy's life. You know, like, he. He is stepping out on his incredible wife constantly, and they've only been married for a few years. He is lying about getting a teaching certification. He's borrowing thou. Literally tens of thousands of dollars from his wife. He's lying about entering a master's degree program, and instead he's just going and cheating on her during that time, and then he murders her like, bro.
- [37:17]
Teeth
And then on top of that, think about the fact that this guy, this piece of shit was going to be a teacher. This guy was going to be teaching children. No, please, no, we don't need that.
- [37:27]
Daphne
Well, as we know, Simonette, months before her murder, found out about Ms. Pumpkin. And she was looking into marital separation. And according to her mom, she was even making plans to leave Jonathan and just really thrive on her own, I'm sure. But she would never get that chance.
- [37:47]
Teeth
Well, as you guys can probably guess, you know, just about how the way we're talking about Jonathan. And obviously to no one's surprise, Jonathan's escapades did not stop after his wife's death on July 24, 2012. So 19 days after Simonette's death, he made 10 phone calls to sex workers. Even more concerning were the Google searches on his work computer in the months before Simonette's murder, which included how to break a neck, how to slit a throat, how to clean up blood, does bleach, clean up DNA, and best way to kill someone.
- [38:27]
Daphne
Idiot.
- [38:28]
Teeth
You fucking idiot.
- [38:29]
Daphne
Idiot.
- [38:32]
Teeth
And these were just a handful of thousands of searches that he made in the months leading up to his wife's death. While Simonette, by contrast, had searched for fertility treatments and marriage counselors. Four months after Simonette's murder, prosecutors finally felt like they had enough to secure a conviction. And on November 13, 2012, Jonathan Croupie was arrested. To the dismay of Simonette's family. The process was long and just very painful, as it is in many cases that we discuss. And it took nearly three years for her case to go to trial, though no one will ever know exactly what happened that morning. Unless, of course, Jonathan decides to become a good person and explain, which obviously he probably won't. Prosecutors muse that the couple were likely in the midst of a heated argument and that Jonathan discovered that she was preparing to leave him. So panicking, he pushed her down the stairs. But that didn't kill her. So in order to avoid an arrest, he finished the job by stabbing her over and over again, which is very personal.
- [39:38]
Daphne
And like we had said earlier, police noted that this was a crime of passion. So, like I would say, oh, if you push her down the stairs, not that that's non violent, of course, it's incredibly violent, but the fact that he took it literally into his own hands and stabbed his wife after she had taken such a nasty fall down the stairs 15 times. Yeah, like that really shows his character and his heart.
- [40:05]
Teeth
Well, he knew that he was screwed after that initial push. And he was like, if, you know, if I let her live, she's gonna testify against me. I'M probably gonna go to jail anyway. So at that point, he's thinking, well, I'll just kill her, then try to cover my tracks.
- [40:20]
Daphne
Hate that.
- [40:21]
Teeth
But it didn't work. Well, inside the home, there was DNA from an unknown person found on Simonet's jewelry box. And his defense attorney, Mario Gallucci, alleged that this had been left behind by the actual murderer during the alleged robbery. So he's saying, oh, yeah, it wasn't Jonathan, because we found a little bit of DNA on her jewelry box.
- [40:43]
Daphne
Yeah. And yes, he's a cheater, but he's not a murderer.
- [40:46]
Teeth
Yeah. I mean, basically the defense attorney is saying that this was just really bad timing. Like Jonathan, yeah, he did go see a sex worker on the day of his wife's murder, but he's just unfaithful. He's not a killer. Mario did explain that Jonathan was embarrassed about having seen a sex worker, even though he kept doing it and was simply covering for himself with the Home Depot story. But that. That didn't make him guilty of his wife's cruel death.
- [41:13]
Daphne
But the defense couldn't account for why her autopsy revealed that her death had taken place before 7:30am when Jonathan was home, as we know, until 9am according to his phone records. At Jonathan's sentencing, John Mapes read a heartbreaking letter to the court on behalf of his slain daughter, saying, was the sunshine of our lives our joy, and now she is gone forever. Cissy was my wife's best friend, her confidant, her life compass. Cissy's brother is not the same big brother he once was. It's been three years, two months and 18 days since Cissy was horribly murdered. And my family will never be the same. We were a happy family who loved each other fiercely. Now my wife cries every day. My son is angry at the world and trusts no one. He continued on to tell the judge that Jonathan should not be shown any leniency. And again, this is coming from a man who considered this guy like a child of his own. And he said, our sissy was hurt and scared the whole time, lying on the floor as her life slowly left her. And what did her killer do? He staged an alibi. He was only thinking of himself. How do I get away with this? Was all that was on his mind. Let's not forget that he researched on how to kill someone and destroy evidence. What remorse did he have? None. He went to a prostitute not just the day of the murder, but many times after. Only a psychopath could do such a thing. This murderer cannot be among good people ever. He will do this again if given the chance. Someone said that the sentencing hearing would put a period to this horror story. My daughter's murder is not a sentence, like some soft passage from a book. Please don't let this be a period. But a hammer of an exclamation mark. He deserves 25 to life. He earned this punishment.
- [43:24]
Teeth
That was honestly such a poetic statement that her dad made. Just the fact that he said, don't let this be a period. Let this be a hammer of an exclamation mark. Just incredible words.
- [43:37]
Daphne
I love it. I totally agree. And, I mean, he's so right. Like, this was not. Not that this would make it any better, but this was not a heat of the moment. I pushed her down the stairs, and, oh, my God, something overcame me. You literally googled multiple things to try to get away with this. Then you did it. Then you pushed her down the stairs, you stabbed her over a dozen times, and then you tried to cover it up, all while you were cheating on her before, during, and after. I mean, he literally cheated on her hours after killing her.
- [44:05]
Teeth
Yeah. And the judge knows all this. You know, the judge sees right through Jonathan. He's gonna try to play himself as being, you know, oh, yeah, I did. I did the wrong thing here, but please, give me some leniency. But it's like, bro, you don't deserve any leniency at all.
- [44:21]
Daphne
Yeah, actually, when it was Jonathan's turn to address the court, he said that he was sorry to her family and sorry that they lost their beloved Simonette. He also apologized for his failings and indiscretions, but he refused to take any accountability for the crime he committed. So he's basically saying, oh, I'm sorry for your loss, not sorry for your loss.
- [44:45]
Teeth
Yeah, I did go see sex workers, and I did. I was a horrible husband. But, yeah, again, didn't do any killing.
- [44:52]
Daphne
Here is a quote from Jonathan. There is one thing I cannot apologize for. I did not kill her. I am an innocent man. I cannot understand with all the reasonable doubt how I was found guilty for after one hour.
- [45:08]
Teeth
Bro, you googled how to kill somebody.
- [45:11]
Daphne
Literally.
- [45:11]
Teeth
What?
- [45:12]
Daphne
And also, it's not to say that. I mean, he is such a liar. So it's, like, really hard for me to believe anything he says at all. And it's not to say that he can't ever be honest. So. Oh, just because you're a liar means you're lying right now. But no, like, you're a liar and you're a killer.
- [45:27]
Teeth
Everybody knows it.
- [45:28]
Daphne
But he kept going. And addressing the judge, Jonathan stated, quote, I respectfully ask for leniency. I stand before you a humbled man, a changed man. All I can do is plead for mercy.
- [45:45]
Teeth
Give me a break. A changed man?
- [45:48]
Daphne
Like, since when, bro?
- [45:50]
Teeth
Since when did that happen?
- [45:51]
Daphne
Like, In July of 2015, after a five week trial, Jonathan was found guilty of second degree murder. I know I kind of gave the spoiler away in his quote. But he was found guilty very quickly. Couple months later, In September of 2015, he was sentenced to 25 years to life, which was the maximum sentence, with jurors saying that the, quote, overwhelming amount of evidence of his guilt was more than convincing. But the year after his conviction in 2016, Jonathan gave Simonette's family yet another reason to hate him when he posted a personal ad on a prison inmate pen pal website, which is still there to this day. Still looking for a pen pal. This is what the advertisement says. My name is Jonathan, and I'm Brooklyn's finest.
- [46:45]
Teeth
No, you're not.
- [46:46]
Daphne
I'm 42 years old and I'm Puerto Rican and Italian. Look close and you'll see I have deep hazel eyes with a big, warm personality to match. I'm outgoing, creative, intelligent, and I love to entertain others. I'm a lot of fun to be around, and I've been told my laugh is contagious.
- [47:05]
Teeth
You are not fun to be around at all.
- [47:07]
Daphne
No, I'm very loyal to my friends. I give all of myself to the right people. No. And I. Oh, wait. I lost my. And I just want to leave the world a better place than when I found it. How is that true?
- [47:22]
Teeth
You literally killed somebody, buddy.
- [47:24]
Daphne
And you like, ugh. I'm down to earth and easygoing, but I have a side to me that is very spiritual as well. I am an innocent man with some very promising opportunities on the horizon. Over a decade later, he's still saying he's innocent.
- [47:39]
Teeth
No. But the funniest part is he's like, I have some great opportunities on the horizon. You're in jail for the rest of your life, my guy.
- [47:47]
Daphne
Yeah. What are you talking about?
- [47:49]
Teeth
What are you talking about?
- [47:50]
Daphne
I have been waiting for that certain someone who will see past my mistakes and give me a chance. I can assure you it's a chance worth taking. Recently, I've been really into my physical fitness. I do yoga every morning as the sun comes up. I work out most days, and I've made my diet as natural as possible. So far this year, I've lost about £50. I have been working on myself these past few years, and I like the outcome. I'm sure you will, too.
- [48:21]
Teeth
God, this just reads like one of those really sad ads. It's like love's long walks on the.
- [48:27]
Daphne
Beach, you know, but, like, way worse. Actually, there's a picture. There's a few pictures of him that slide, like, automatically when you're on this page. And one of them is him smiling and, like, making a muscle. And it's really close up, like, bro. In another version of this post, he tacked on, quote, I'm not married, and I don't have any kids. No baby mama drama here. As you can imagine, when Teresa caught wind of this, she was disgusted. And she actually spoke out about it immediately, telling the press, quote, he has no baby mama drama. It was just the way that he wrote it. It was like an attack on us. That's how I felt. It was an attack on this family. Like he hasn't done enough. He took my world away. He destroyed my world. He destroyed my life. He destroyed my family. It's like my daughter meant nothing. You know, that's where my anger comes from, is that my daughter did mean something and she was an asset to this world. Jonathan's legal team filed an appeal on the very day his sentence was handed down, but it was denied.
- [49:34]
Teeth
Thank God.
- [49:35]
Daphne
In 2019, he filed to represent himself in appellate court under the guise of receiving ineffective counsel during his last appeal. But this motion was also denied, which means he will likely be in prison for the rest of his life for what he did to the incredible Simonette Mapes. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.
- [50:10]
Teeth
Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. What a tragic story that really just didn't have to happen. But, of course, there are pieces of shit like Jonathan in the world.
- [50:20]
Daphne
Yeah, I mean, the. There's so many surprises in this case. You feel like it can't possibly get any worse, and then Jonathan does get.
- [50:26]
Teeth
Worse because he just is the worst. Well, thank you guys again so much for listening. I also want to mention that Daphne's book, Night Watcher, came out this week. You can purchase it wherever you get your books. Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, wherever. So go pick it up. It's amazing. I read it in one day because I couldn't put it down.
- [50:45]
Daphne
Thank you so much. And thank you again to everybody who has already bought it. It means the world to me. All right, guys, we will see you next Tuesday.
- [50:54]
Teeth
So for everybody out there in the.
- [50:55]
Daphne
World, sorry I took your all right?
- [50:57]
Teeth
I'm always all right, guys. So for everybody out there in the.
- [51:00]
Daphne
World, don't be a stranger. Sam.
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