Advertiser / Belgard Pavers (14:27)

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Narrator / Mr. Ballin (14:45)

Moments later, Cass led Baker into the second floor office where the body of 39 year old Mike Sametti Jr. Had been found. Detective Cass said sadly that just like with Chester, he knew Mike personally as well. Mike Jr. Had not just been shot in the torso the way Chester had been shot, he had been shot in the face as well as in the chest. And the force of these shots had been so powerful that, like his desk and surrounding paperwork were also all drenched in blood. And for the most part, he, you know, Mike was basically unrecognizable. But what struck Baker the most was not just how gruesome this was, it was the fact that, you know, Mike Jr. Is still kind of slumped in his chair. You know, he's in his office. Whoever did this, it's like they went in here to execute Mike really intentionally. They marched in here, they didn't touch anything else, and they shot Mike right in the face with a shotgun before Mike could even get up. I mean, this seemed very intentional. Somebody came here to kill Mike. And so as Baker was thinking about that, he realized that this likely meant Mike Jr. Was the one who actually got shot first before Chester had even arrived at the building. Otherwise, you know, Mike Jr. Would have heard the gunshot downstairs and he wouldn't have been so caught off guard sitting in his chair like this. And so again, if Mike was the first person shot, it just further suggested that he was the main target of this attack. The crime scene, you know, of course, was gruesome, but considering it was remarkably clean, I mean, there were no bloody footprints or any indication the killer had interacted with the scene. And the Zimittis did fit the mafia stereotype. An Italian American family involved in construction. Baker told Cas what he was thinking, sort of as he was surveying the scene here. And Cas as he heard this, he sort of had this thoughtful look come over his face. He said he knew the Zimittis pretty Well, and Mike Jr. And his father were really good people. So he found it hard to believe they were involved in any kind of shady, you know, mafia business deals. But he conceded that it was possible, especially since these Amidis were contractors on a project called the Big Dig. And this made Baker immediately raise his eyebrows. So the Big Dig was literally the biggest construction project in the country and involved building a tunnel under the harbor in Boston. But it had been kind of like a total disaster, just a major headache for the city since it was way over budget and had been going on for 15 years and still wasn't done. This huge project had also been famously hampered by mafia dealings and corrupt payoffs. So now Baker had to wonder if the Zamettis had either been involved in these seedy deals or had maybe accidentally upset the wrong person while on the job. But even if the murders had nothing to do with the mob, Baker still thought it was very likely that the killer was somehow connected to their business. Somebody who maybe had worked at Allstate Concrete or maybe who had been a client, you know, and would know where Mike worked in the building and that he'd be there early in the morning. And while the second victim, Chester, was probably not the primary target, Baker wasn't sure yet why he was also killed. He could have been killed because he was just at work at the wrong moment. Or maybe he was wrapped up in the same conflict as the Zamettis. So for a moment, Baker just stood there, staring at the scene, staring at the blood soaked paperwork all over the desk. And then eventually he turned to Cass and said they would need a list of all of Allstate's employees and clients. Baker then spent some more time just kind of walking around the office looking for evidence, and he noticed a 16 gauge shotgun shell on the floor. So he grabbed a nearby tech and told her to bag it and see if she could locate any other shells. Baker and Cass then headed outside, where already a crowd of people were gathering outside around the outside of the police perimeter. Once they were outside, Trooper Baker asked Cass if they could start by speaking with the person who actually discovered the bodies, Michael Zametti Sr. But Detective Cass shook his head and said no. He explained when he'd first gotten to the scene that Michael Sr. Had been so distraught over his son's death that he could barely speak. So Cass had just sent him home. Another Wakefield police officer had done the same thing when Mike Jr. S wife, Michelle Zametti, showed up totally hysterical, saying she had heard there was an accident and they had told her that her husband was dead and taken her home, too. Baker understood, but was not thrilled to hear this. He preferred to speak to witnesses and family really quickly and in person. In a murder, a spouse is always a suspect, so he was especially disappointed to have missed Michelle. But there was still plenty to do at the scene, and obviously the Wakefield police knew where the family could be found later. So Baker turned to Cass and suggested they just start canvassing the businesses nearby. The following morning, March 14, Trooper Baker parked his car in front of Mike's parents house in Wakefield. He was with Detective Cass, and they were there to speak with Mike Sr. They'd just gotten the autopsies back for both Chester and Mike, but they didn't reveal anything that they didn't already know. Chester had been shot once, Mike twice, and both died, likely within seconds. But the investigators did have one potential lead from their canvas up the neighborhood. Even though they hadn't found any surveillance cameras at Allstate Concrete, some businesses around Allstate had some. So Baker had some officers scrubbing through that footage now. He also had another team interviewing Chester Roberts family because there was still a chance that Baker had gotten this all wrong and maybe Chester was actually the target. Besides that, the crime techs had not found much physical evidence at the scene. There were no fingerprints, and since it had been raining, they hadn't been able to collect any footprints or car tracks from outside. So now Baker reached up and knocked on the front door of the Semitis house, hoping that Mike Sr. Would be able to point them in the right direction. A minute Later, Baker and Cas sat in the living room with Mike Sr. And Pat, Mike's mom. Both of Mike's parents seemed incredibly emotional. Michael Sr. Was visibly shaking while Pat just cried. And seeing how upset they were now made Baker realize that Cas had made the right call. And sending Michael Sr. Home yesterday. Even 24 hours later, it was still going to be very hard to get any sort of real answer out of them because of how upset they were. So Baker decided he would just have to keep it really brief. The first thing he did is he asked Mike Sr. To just go over the actual discovery of the bodies, tell me what happened. And what he said lined up with everything that Baker had heard from Cass and from dispatch. And so after Mike Sr. Went over that, Baker moved on to the real reason he was there. He asked if there was anybody in Mike Jr. S life who might have wanted to hurt him. Mike Sr. Took a few shaky breaths as he thought about the question. And then he said that, you know, there were a few people in the industry that he and his son did not necessarily get along with. But mostly they tried to have good relationships with everyone. I mean, getting in fights was just bad business. But as he was saying this, Mike Sr. Suddenly sat up straighter, like he just thought of something. And he said, actually, there was a former coworker who did definitely have a grudge against them. His nephew, Hank Jennings. Hank got mad at them a few years ago about unpaid overtime wages and. And actually filed a lawsuit against them. Now, they'd eventually paid Hank a settlement, but they still all hated each other. Mike Sr. Looked over at his wife, Pat, and she just nodded and said the whole thing had been really high stress and very volatile. Baker took down Hank's information and talked with Mike's parents for just a few more minutes. And then he nodded to Cass and they stood to leave. Baker knew he still needed to speak more to the Zamittis, but for now, he was gonna give them a break. And instead, he and Cass would look into Hank. Two days later, Baker sat in Cass's office at the Wakefield Police Department, pouring over crime scene photos and witness statements. He was starting to get antsy. I mean, after meeting with Mike's parents, he'd been excited to speak with Hank Jennings, the disgruntled former employee who also happened to be Mike's cousin. But even though Baker and Cass had sent officers out to track Hank down for an interview, they hadn't been able to get a hold of him yet. However, they had gotten in touch with Mike's wife, Michelle, and had questioned her at her house in Wakefield, but she hadn't given them much. She said that she was at home with her kids at the time of her husband's death and that she really didn't know of anybody who would want to hurt Mike Jr. Also, Baker and Cass had looked into Allstate Concrete's financial statements, and they had found nothing that suggested there was anything shady or Mafia related happening with the company. Still, Baker knew they were better off than they had been a few days ago, primarily because they had had a chance to review a bunch of the surveillance footage from the businesses around Allstate. And one of those security cameras had been aimed at the street right outside Allstate. Now, this angle didn't show the Allstate parking lot itself, but it did show everyone who entered and exited that parking lot from the street. So this particular camera had picked up Mike Jr's truck arriving at work at 7:39am and then at 7:44am so five minutes later, an unknown green pickup truck pulled in as well. And then a few minutes after that, Chester Roberts was seen arriving at Allstate on foot. And then at 7:50, the green truck was seen again leaving the parking lot 12 minutes before Michael Sr. S red truck arrived at 8:02. So whoever the killer was, it looked like they had driven that green truck and had killed Mike and Chester between 7:44am and 7:50am the video wasn't clear enough to show the driver of this mysterious green truck or even see its plates. And it didn't actually show the driver of this vehicle, the killer getting out of the vehicle and entering the building, but knowing the style and color of very likely the killer's vehicle would definitely help them narrow down potential suspects. James Just then the desk phone rang and Baker watched as Cass grabbed it and said hello. And then Cass got a confused look on his face before he thanked the caller and said they'd be right over. He hung up and told Baker that that was Michelle Zametti and she'd called to say that she had new information to give them, something that she hadn't mentioned in her first interview, and that it was.

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Narrator / Mr. Ballin (25:26)

Just a paver.

Advertiser / Belgard Pavers (25:27)

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Angie Hicks (25:35)

co founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Roof repair done well. Kitchen sink install done well. Deck upgrades done well. Electrical upgrade done well. Angie's been connecting homeowners with Sky Guild pros for nearly 30 years, so we know the difference between done and done well. Angie the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project@angie.com About

Narrator / Mr. Ballin (26:06)

15 minutes later, Baker and Cass sat down across from Michelle in her living room for the second time. And to Baker, Michelle seemed very different from the last time they spoke. Two days ago, she'd seemed horrified and grief stricken, but now she just seemed really nervous. She kept touching her hair and fiddling with a stack of condolence cards on the coffee table. Baker commented that there were a lot of cards and Michelle just nodded. She said so many people had reached out and sent cards, all their friends and neighbors in Wakefield and in Freedom, New Hampshire, where their second home was. And then Michelle took a breath and just got straight to the reason that she had called them. She said that she had withheld information about one of her neighbors in Freedom. His name was Sean Fitzpatrick and she'd had an affair with him. Baker cleared his throat in surprise and then asked her to go on. Michelle's eyes filled with tears as she explained how Mike Jr. Worked so much and she and the kids spent a lot of time at their lake house. And so that meant they spent a lot of time with Shawn. And eventually this friendship between Michelle and Sean had grown into a romance. Baker couldn't believe he was hearing this. A secret love triangle gave both Shawn and Michelle plenty of motivation to want Mike dead. But before he could ask any follow up questions, Michelle said her husband actually knew all about her affair and that they had been in therapy and they'd begun to completely turn their marriage around. So finally, a month ago, she'd officially totally broken things off with Shawn. And Shawn had been really upset about it. Baker shared a look with Cas and could tell they were both thinking the same thing. Obviously, they needed to speak to Sean immediately. But also, Michelle was now back to being a primary suspect, too. Maybe she had wanted her husband out of the picture so she could be with Shawn, and maybe the only reason she was telling them this was to get ahead of it. However, they would need a lot more evidence before they could prove any of that. So for now, Baker just got Shawn's number and address from Michelle and told her they would be in touch. Later that night, Baker and Cass were once again inside of Cass office. But this time they were there with another officer who was there to give them a crucial update. After speaking with Michelle, Baker had sent a team of officers up to Freedom, New Hampshire to speak with Shawn, the neighbor she had been having an affair with. And now one of those officers was back in Wakefield to tell them what he had learned. And the first thing Baker wanted to know was not about their conversation. It was just, did you see a green truck in Shawn's driveway? But the officer shook his head and said, shawn did own a truck, but it was bright red. Then he went on to say that when they had spoken to Sean, he had completely denied having an affair with Michelle. Sean had admitted that he had dated a lot of girls, but he'd insisted that he and Michelle were just close family friends. Now the officers who were there speaking to Sean just stood there and let Sean talk, never telling him that they already knew that Michelle fully admitted to them having an affair and they knew Shawn was lying here. Baker almost laughed when he heard this, because he did not believe Shawn at all. And if he was lying like he appeared to be, that made him seem pretty guilty. But before he could say so, the officer added one more thing. He said Sean actually had a solid alibi. He'd been at home on the morning of the murders, and one of his neighbors had actually confirmed it. This particular neighbor Took her morning walk every day at 9am and she'd seen Shawn outside his house right around then. Baker sighed. It took around two hours to drive between Freedom and Wakefield. So Sean would not have had enough time to kill Mike and Chester by 7:50am and then get to Freedom by 9. And so suddenly, Sean Fitzpatrick felt like another very promising dead end on March 18th. So, five days after the murders of Mike Csametti and Chester Roberts, Detectives Baker and Cass stood at the back of a church in Wakefield, Massachusetts. They were there for Mike's funeral, and the church was absolutely packed. But the investigators were not just there to pay their respects. They were also there to speak to Hank Jennings, the cousin of Mike, who had filed that lawsuit against the concrete company. Since by that point, they still had not been able to officially get a hold of Hank, Cass had suggested that they just corner him at Mike's funeral, which he was very likely to attend because, you know, despite his rift with the Zamettis, he was still family. And when the service wrapped up and everybody stood to leave, Baker felt a nudge on his arm. Cass leaned over and whispered that they'd been right. And he pointed out Hank right in the crowd. So as the attendees started filing out of the church, the investigators pushed their way over to Hank and. And got in front of him just before he could step outside. Baker immediately noticed that Hank's whole body went tense when they blocked his way, like he wanted to try to make a run for it. So Baker just cut to the chase and he said, hank, will you come with us and speak to us, please? And Hank's eyes got really wide and he just said, no way, not without his lawyer. Then he pushed past the investigators and hurried outside. Baker and Cass didn't follow him. Instead, they just exchanged a look because they knew now that Hank was obviously their primary suspect. Five weeks after the funeral in mid April of 2006, State Trooper Kevin Baker sat in Detective Cass office in the Wakefield Police Department. He was wearing gloves, and he was holding a piece of paper that looked like an old fashioned ransom note. It was covered in letters that had been clearly cut out of a newspaper, and it spelled out a very alarming close business now or more family will die. This message had been brought to them by Mike Jr. S mother, Pat, who said they had received it in the mail that morning. For the Zamettis, for so many reasons, this letter was terrifying. It was not just a reminder of their son's murder, but also a promise that there would be more violence. But for Baker, the note was a lead, which they really needed, because it had been over a month since Michael and Chester were killed. And at this point, the two investigators had managed to rule out basically every one of their suspects, and that included Hank Jennings. They'd learned that Hank's clear reluctance to meet with them was not because of guilt. It was because he had signed a non disclosure agreement during the settlement with the Zamettis and didn't want to break it. And when they did finally speak to him, he clearly had an alibi. He was at work when Mike and Chester were killed, and Baker and Cass had confirmed it with his employer. And while Hank did own some shotguns, none of them were 16 gauge. So Hank joined the pile of other discarded suspects, like Michelle, who could have had the motive to kill Mike Jr. Since she was wrapped up in an affair with their neighbor. But she'd been incredibly cooperative, and they hadn't been able to find any evidence that she might have been involved, like maybe if she had hired someone or something. And her ex lover, Sean, was also very suspicious and had a strong motive to kill Mike, but his alibi had cleared him. There was no way Sean could have been in Wakefield during the murders because his neighbor saw him about an hour later at his home, which was over 100 miles away. And so now this warning note that looked like a ransom note seemed to point back towards the theory that Baker and Cass had ruled out at the very beginning that the murders were business related and the mafia was involved. Cass was a local, and he'd told Baker that there had been a lot of rumors swirling around about the murders in the community because of the Zamitti's role in the big Dig. The general consensus around Wakefield was that the mob theory made the most sense. But Baker really wasn't so sure. I mean, they'd looked into the Zimitti's books and records repeatedly, and they hadn't seen anything to suggest any shady deals or potential mob inferior interaction. Also, Baker didn't think this ransom style note made from newspaper clippings was the mob's style. It just felt kind of silly and performative, like maybe somebody was trying to make it seem like the mob to lead the investigation in the wrong direction. But even if that was the case, this note was still huge. Because maybe whoever had sent it had left their fingerprints or DNA on it. So Baker bagged up the note and Cass carried it off to send to the crime lab. Baker knew the results from the lab would not be immediate, so while they waited, he wanted to re interview all their Suspects and all their witnesses in case they'd overlooked anything. A few days later, Baker sat alone at Cass desk reading another witness statement. He'd been revitalized by all the new evidence they'd gathered and was feeling really optimistic about their ability to solve this thing. Aside from conducting new interviews, they had gotten some forensics from that ransom letter. The lab had found both DNA and a palm print on it. Now they just needed a suspect to compare it to. And just then, the office door flung open and a very excited Cass barged in. An hour later, Baker and Cass walked up the front steps at Michelle Zamitti's house, and they knocked on her front door. When she answered, they asked her for permission to come inside and take a certain small object from her house. And after Michelle, who was sort of confused by what they were asking for, said, okay, come on in, they went right past her, went straight to this object. They bagged it, went right back outside and sent it off to the crime lab. And as soon as the lab test results came back, Baker and Cass knew they had solved the case. Based on DNA, other forensic evidence, and witness statements, here is a reconstruction of what police believe happened to Michael Zmitty Jr. And Chester Roberts. On the morning of March 13, 2006. At 7:45am the killer crept up the stairs that led to Mike's office. They had a shotgun with them, and the and their heart was racing. They were very nervous about what they were about to do. But Mike Jr. He had to go. And that was all there was to it. So when the killer reached the office door, they barely hesitated before pushing it open and raising their shotgun. Mike was sitting in a chair at his desk, and when the door opened, he turned towards the killer. And when Mike Jr. Saw them standing there with a gun pointed at them, his eyes got wide. But the killer fired two blasts before Mike could even move, hitting Mike in the face and in the chest. Mike immediately slumped over in a seat and stopped moving, and the killer ran back down the stairs to the garage. But before they could leave, they froze because they could hear footsteps approaching the building side door from outside. And so the killer instinctively just hid, not really sure what they were gonna do, waiting for this person to either come inside or leave. And then once this person did come inside, it was a man. It was Chester. The killer leapt out and shot him right in the back, and he dropped to the ground dead. And after killing Chester, the killer felt shocked. I mean, they hadn't planned on killing a second person today. Mike was the target. But they also knew they couldn't just wait around for more people to arrive. So the killer, at this point, left the building and jumped into the truck they had stolen from one of their neighbors. Then they peeled out of the parking lot less than just 10 minutes after they'd arrived. As they drove, they gripped the wheel tightly, and they knew they should feel guilty about what they had just done. But instead, all they felt was relief, because now they could finally be with the love of their life. It would turn out Michael Smitty Jr. And Chester Roberts were not murdered by Mike's wife, Michelle, or Mike Jr. S cousin Hank, or the mob. They were killed by Mike Jr. S lakeside neighbor and his wife's lover, Sean Fitzpatrick. When Michelle tried to break things off with Sean, she said the only reason she would ever leave Mike was if Mike ended things or if something happened to him. Now, Michelle meant that as an excuse, but Sean took it as a suggestion. So then he murdered Mike Jr. To steal his wife. Sean took that green pickup truck from a neighbor who was out of town and then drove it to Wakefield, committed the murders, and then came back that neighbor who said they saw Shawn at his house in freedom at around 9am that basically made it impossible for Shawn, based on timing, to have gone, committed the murders and came back. Well, that neighbor called to amend their statement, saying that actually they had seen Shawn later in the day. And that change created enough time, enough of a window on the day of the murders, that it was absolutely possible that Shawn could have driven, done the murders and come back. And so once Shawn's alibi fell apart, investigators remembered that stack of condolence cards at Michelle's house. So they went over to see if maybe Sean had sent one, and he had. And when they tested the envelope flap, which he had licked to seal it, they got his DNA. Then they matched it to the very threatening letter that sort of looked like a ransom letter that had been given to the Zamidis, which Sean had put together and sent to them in order to throw police off his trail and make them think that, yeah, the mob was involved here. In June of 2006, Sean Fitzpatrick was arrested and eventually received two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Michael Zimitti Jr. And Chester Roberts. A quick note about our stories. They are all based on true events, but we sometimes use pseudonyms to protect the people involved, and some details are fictionalized for dramatic purposes. The Mr. Ballin podcast Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories is hosted and executive Produced by me, Mr. Ballin. Our head of writing is Evan Allen. Produced by Jeremy Bone. This episode was written by Kate Murdoch Research and fact checking by Shelly Shue, Samantha Vanhus, Evan Beamer, Abigail Shumway and Camille Callahan Research and fact checking supervision by Steven Ear Audio editing and post produced by Whit Locasio and Cole Locasio Additional audio editing by Jordan Stidham Production coordination by Samantha Collins Production support by Antonio Minatta and Delaina Corley Artwork by Jessica Claude Kiner Theme song called Something Wicked by Ross Bugden thank you for listening to the Mr. Ballin podcast. And just a reminder, every new and exclusive episode we put out on the Mr. Ballin podcast, you can also now watch on the Mr. Ballin YouTube channel that very same day. And trust me, some of these stories you truly have to see to believe. Again, my YouTube channel is just called Mr. Ballin. If you want to listen to episodes one week early and add free free. You can subscribe to SiriusXM Podcast plus on Apple Podcasts or visit siriusxm.com podcastplus to listen with Spotify or another app of your choice. So that's gonna do it. I really appreciate your support. Until next time. See ya.

Advertiser / Belgard Pavers (41:35)

Your outdoor space is where you unwind and make memories. So make it count. Belgard Pavers are designed to elevate your outdoors design forward and built to last. Learn more@belgard.com that's B E L G A R D.com hi, I'm Angie Hicks,

Angie Hicks (41:50)

co founder of Angie. One thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. For decades, Angie's helped make millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter. Angie the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project at Angie. Combination.