Cold Cases That Were Solved With Insane Twists | Story

foreign  Janelle Melton lived in Neptune City New Jersey in 2009. she had an apartment in the Brighton Arms apartment complex Janelle worked as a social studies teacher at Red Bank Middle School in New Jersey she had a passion for history and knew how to get her students into it on September 14th of 2009 Janelle still had not shown up for school by 8 am it was an important day as she had a guest speaker lined up for her students the school secretary asked Janelle’s estranged husband Michael Melton to go check on her at her apartment

Janelle met Michael after college he said he used to flirt with her a bit they started dating and got married in Jamaica in August of 2003. they both became teachers at Red Bank Middle School the marriage was good for about three years Michael said he wasn’t used to so much affection or having someone love him so much he had started a basketball company and was gone a lot Michael eventually filed for divorce Janelle became comfortable having her own space they were still cordial and spoke on the phone every day

when Michael received the phone call from the school secretary that Janelle did not show up for work he immediately drove to her apartment he saw Janelle’s car in the driveway he entered the house and called out her name he walked into her bedroom and saw her on the floor Janelle had her nightgown on and Michael saw what looked like blood on it it appeared to him that she had fallen while she was putting her makeup on he called 9-1-1 Michael said he remembered asking Janelle what she had done he thought that perhaps she could not

handle the separation and had harmed herself the paramedics arrived at Janelle’s apartment around 9 20 a.m they immediately determined that she was not alive anymore investigators found that Janelle had been beaten and tortured over a period of time probably to get information from her she had been shot in the head twice and stabbed five times Janelle had been beaten so badly that her jaw was broken in two places investigators believed at least two people were responsible due to the brutality of the slaying the kitchen window was the point of

entry there was a footprint impression on the chair below the window inside of the apartment the kitchen had been ransacked the cabinets were opened and it appeared as if someone had been searching through the cereal boxes It is believed that Janelle’s life was taken during the night of September 13th in her bedroom investigators found a frayed piece of duct tape which probably was used as some kind of binding the duct tape had blood on it and there were latex gloves found near Janelle’s body the evidence was collected and stored so

that it could be used later Michael was interviewed by the police as he was the one that first found her body police first tried to collect any information about his relationship with Janelle Michael admitted that they were still sometimes having relations he said he felt like the questions were very evasive but the police needed as much information as they could Michael said he was visiting a friend on the night that Janelle’s life was ended his Alibi was looked into the police spoke to Michael’s friend his phone records didn’t put him

anywhere near Janelle’s apartment on the night of the crime Michael also consented to a DNA swab two days after Janelle’s slaying a newspaper article came out in the article it said Michael was her estranged husband and Janelle was found slain in her home the article also mentioned that the divorce was to be finalized on October 6th Michael realized that people thought he was responsible for taking her life Michael said everyone turned on him Janelle’s family and their colleagues all believed he was responsible

Michael’s friend was an attorney he agreed to defend him pro bono he was told not to speak to anyone when Michael returned back to work he had a memo on his desk saying he could not teach anymore or have any contact with students Michael met the school officials with his attorney it was recommended to him that he’d take a desk job while the investigation was ongoing on November 10th of 2009 two months after Janelle’s body was found the DNA came back from on the duct tape the duct tape had Michael’s DNA on it Janelle’s DNA was also found on it from

the blood that was left behind the police believed that Janelle had been duct taped to a chair before the attack Michael claimed that the tape had been stuck to his shoe when he found Janelle so he used his hands to pull it off and that was why his DNA was on it realizing no one believed that he was innocent Michael turned to alcohol and even contemplated taking his own life there was also DNA found on the pink lighter but it unfortunately came back as inconclusive all of the evidence was transferred to the New York City medical examiner’s

office for additional analysis a few months after Janelle’s slaying investigators were still receiving tips one neighbor believed he had heard a loud noise one woman said her dogs were awoken by the noise a tall black male that did not live in the complex was spotted near the apartment acting suspiciously many people close to Janelle were angry that these neighbors had been sitting on this information for months on December 3rd of 2012 three years after the crime the police learned that they had a DNA match from the lighter

it came back as belonging to Gregory Jean Baptiste a Bloods gang member he was then questioned by the police Baptiste said that he had never seen Janelle before and had never been at her apartment the police went in circles with Baptiste as he would not confess to anything after 27 minutes he refused to talk anymore Michael reached out to a friend to help clear his name the friend went out to talk to people in the area the friend actually got crucial information and Michael told police about what he had heard apparently gang members were looking for

a drug dealer named David James AKA munch David lived directly next to Janelle it was rumored that David had fifteen thousand dollars in a freezer his girlfriend was overheard by these people talking about drugs at a party they ended up at the wrong apartment and assumed Janelle was the girlfriend of David investigators then went out searching for anyone who would talk finally uninformant gave them three names a fourth person a woman was their getaway driver the men were identified as Ebenezer bird Gregory Jean Baptiste and Jerry Spalding

all three were part of the blood’s gang the woman was later identified as Elizabeth Pinto a former girlfriend of Ebenezer bird it was on December 1st of 2015 that a woman named narika Scott identified Elizabeth Pinto as the getaway driver narika had been Ebenezer Bird’s current girlfriend she went to the police after hearing his confession during one of their prison visits it was clear to the police that she had been very afraid to come forward Elizabeth Pinto was interviewed she was also afraid to talk she finally said Janelle deserved

Justice and admitted that she was the getaway driver she said that all three men dressed in black and told her where to drive Pinto was shown photos of all three men and she was able to identify them by name she said she did not know where she was driving to she agreed to show where she had dropped them off she pled guilty to conspiracy and agreed to testify against all three men Pinto was also able to tell the police that all three men had put on latex gloves Pinto dropped them off nearby and watched them walk across the street

towards the apartment on March 23rd of 2016 all three men were charged with taking Janelle’s life second-degree robbery conspiracy and unlawful weapons charges they all maintained their innocence the trial began on January 17th of 2019. Elizabeth Pinto was the star witness for the prosecution the defense argued that Michael was the real culprit the defense claimed that there was still a lot of evidence that had not been tested the prosecutors believed that Janelle was Home Alone on September 13th of 2009.

Elizabeth Pinto went to the home of Bird’s mom and found all three men there had her drive them over to the Brighton Arms Apartments Baptiste went in through the window and dropped his lighter he then opened the sliding door to let the others in Janelle was in her bedroom before the attack they taped her to a chair they were searching for the money in drugs but realized that they were in the wrong apartment they shot Janelle probably so she would not identify them the phone records of all three men placed them at Janelle’s apartment

they were all found guilty of taking Janelle’s life robbery conspiracy and weapons charges a Fourth Man James fair was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary he had been the one to spread the word that David kept his money in the freezer they were all sentenced to life in prison Elizabeth Pinto pled guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to probation their crime spree which spans over 28 years is over said Superior Court Judge Joseph W Oxley James fair is serving an 82-year sentence from unrelated charges

one of Melton’s sisters Connie Sadler told the judge about the victim’s dedication to her profession and her students Janelle was not just a teacher by profession Connie said it was her mission I believe Janelle knew that teaching was her calling from God Janelle wanted to do more than Inspire students academically she wanted to make a real and lasting impact in their hearts and their lives what the three men did to her sister was a heinous and demonic act Connie said but she added I know Janelle is a Christian and she would want me to

forgive them I pray for them and I pray that God will have mercy on them but every action has a consequence Michael Melton went to rehab and he is now focusing on his basketball spotlight company he said that after he had heard about what really happened to Janelle half of him was feeling relieved because they knew it was not him who did that to Janelle the other half is feeling heavily distraught because she lost her life over some money he said now my life is really not about me anymore it’s about working for the

community and trying to help save people’s lives that’s what gives me the peace and motivation I have each day I was given a second chance so I have to do the best I can with the gift I’ve gotten 51 year old Paul Steven giandro lived in Moyock North Carolina in 2010. he had two daughters Stephanie and Christina Paul had been married several times he was a retired Navy chief before retiring from the Navy Paul earned the ranking of Grand Master Chief Paul’s brother Mike described him as a stand-up guy and had many close friends

and family members his wife at the time was Leticia jandro they met in 2002 at a kickboxing class Leticia was 29 years old a competitive bodybuilder and an accomplished sportswoman she even won the National American Sports federation’s North Carolina bodybuilding championship in June of 2010. Leticia worked in human resources at a children’s hospital in Norfolk Virginia Leticia was described as very shy but Paul really wanted to get to know her he proposed that they become workout partners and the relationship seemed to

Blossom Paul had been married when he first met Leticia but he was just waiting for his divorce to be finalized Paul and Leticia were an unlikely pair and the complete opposites of each other Paul was outgoing and Leticia was quiet and shy after a few months of dating Paul asked Leticia to move in with him in May of 2003 Paul’s divorce was finalized and a month later he married Leticia they were described as happy and affectionate with one another in 2009 Leticia started working for Blackwater Airlines and continued to

train for her bodybuilding competitions she had won or placed in the top for several competitions Paul would travel to the competitions with her and brag about her accomplishments to his friends on June 30th of 2010 Paul did not show up for work he worked for a company that Services Navy ships he usually came into work around 5 30 a.

m and had been working on an important presentation around 7 45 a.m Paul’s co-workers reported him missing Paul led a very punctual life so his co-workers were immediately concerned deputy sheriff Lisa Starcher from the curry tuck County Sheriff’s Office drove out to the jandro home to perform a welfare check Starcher arrived at Paul’s brumsey Landing home there were multiple cars spotted in the driveway but no one answered the door Paul’s co-workers contacted Leticia through her workplace to see if she knew where he was Leticia said she did not and left work

to meet with the deputy Leticia allowed the deputy into the house she explained that she and Paul slept in separate bedrooms due to the noise of Paul’s CPAP machine but when she entered Paul’s bedroom the machine was gone Leticia explained that they had an open relationship and were both seeing other people Leticia said Paul most likely just left on his own to stay with one of these other women but after a few days of back and forth and no news of Paul’s whereabouts the authorities determined some foul play was involved

Paul’s co-workers came to the same conclusion they went out looking for him and handed out missing persons Flyers it was clear that everyone respected and loved Paul on July 1st of 2010 the police were notified that Paul’s phone had pinged off a tower in Elizabeth City about 30 minutes from his house the police canvassed nearby hotels and learned that Paul may have been spotted at a Hampton Inn the manager of the hotel was shown Paul’s photo and said that she saw him the night before and that morning she said that Paul was acting odd

however this turned out to be a case of mistaken identity Paul had not registered at the hotel and he was not seen on any of the surveillance cameras later that same day a construction worker found Paul’s phone in the parking lot of an elementary school in Elizabeth City the construction worker had called Paul’s brother Mike zandro who said that his brother was missing the construction worker then turned Paul’s phone into the Elizabeth City Police Department the police continued to Canvas the area near the elementary school a utility

worker also claimed to have spotted Paul walking down the street however the police were sure that it was a case of mistaken identity which they would later be right about still on July 1st the police received a 9-1-1 call from one of Paul and leticia’s Neighbors they had spotted Leticia and an unknown man moving furniture from the house the man was later identified as leticia’s brother 39 year old Eugene askew when the police arrived they told Leticia to move the furniture back into the house she complied and said she was getting

some new furniture and taking the old stuff to put in storage Leticia and Paul’s neighbors had also noticed that Leticia was putting things up on the windows to keep people from looking in Leticia had used wrapping paper and frosting spray to cover up the windows the neighbors and co-workers told the police that things in the jandro’s marriage had taken a dark turn after trying to have a baby Leticia had gotten pregnant with twins after going through several rounds of IVF Leticia ended up losing the babies about

21 weeks into the pregnancy Leticia had also said they were separating and both seeing other people Paul’s co-workers said that Paul had filed for divorce and wanted Leticia out of the house two weeks before he disappeared Paul had filed a report that someone had keyed his car Paul kept his beloved Dodge Charger in pristine condition the police learned that it had most likely been Leticia because the car had been kept in the garage Leticia had mentioned this to the police but never admitted to doing it on July 2nd Leticia agreed to turn over

Paul’s personal computer but when the police went to the giandro’s house she wasn’t there the note on the door said went to River’s Edge call me on my cell thanks however Leticia did not answer her phone Leticia ended up calling 9-1-1 to report that people were outside her house when she was not home she told the dispatcher that she was in Chesapeake Virginia the dispatcher was able to trace the phone call from The bronzy Landing home Leticia was inside the house and her behavior had become very odd just after midnight on July 3rd the

police returned to the house with a search warrant Leticia did not answer the door the police found the garage door unlocked but it was barricaded with heavy garbage they were eventually able to make entry and found Leticia hiding in a closet covered by clothes Leticia was read her rights and claimed she had been hiding because she was afraid that people thought that she did something to Paul she kept her head in her hands and would not make eye contact while Leticia was being questioned other detectives were searching the house

in a Twist in the master bedroom where Paul slept the police found blood spatter a bullet hole in the wall and a bullet skid mark under a rug the rug had been glued to the floor in the garage the police discovered a Blue Toad a shower curtain was taped over the top of the toad after removing the shower curtain the police were hit with the smell of decomposition Paul’s body was recovered under several layers of plastic tape and kitty litter he was shot with a 45 caliber handgun five times once each in the abdomen

chest thigh neck and hand Paul had about 12 lacerations to his head that were consistent with being struck by a blunt object such as a pistol his cell phone was missing from the residents officers discovered an assortment of cleaning supplies in the residence and reported that the primary bedroom’s hardwood floor looked like it had been scrubbed the officers also confiscated spent bullets from the scene they also confiscated duct tape Caulking and plastic wrap among other items from the kitchen Leticia was confronted about what they

had found she then spun a story about how she had hired several men in Elizabeth City to beat up Paul she said she met random men on the street in Elizabeth City and said that Paul was mistreating her the police did not believe Leticia and they arrested her in yet another twist after spending about a day in jail Leticia said she wanted to talk now she said she did take Paul’s life but in self-defense Leticia said Paul attacked her on the morning of July 30th of 2010.

she said he came into her room with a gun and said he wanted her out of the house by the time he came home from work Leticia said she grabbed her gun a 45 millimeter walked to Paul’s bedroom and just kept shooting she said they struggled even after he was shot several times the police recovered leticia’s gun from her car at the house the gun was registered to one of leticia’s boyfriends Kyle Koenig a retired Air Force General she had stolen the gun from him Leticia had been sued by another boyfriend the police found a copy of the lawsuit

at the house the man claimed he had been taken advantage of by Leticia Leticia had asked for money and claimed that she was pregnant with his twins the man spoke to Paul about it and Paul filed for divorce a receipt was also found in the house for the purchase of the tote Leticia was seen on surveillance footage at Lowe’s buying the tote in September of 2012 Leticia testified at her trial she maintained her story that she had shot Paul in self-defense however the evidence did not match with her story Paul had suffered from multiple gunshot

wounds and severe blunt force trauma there was a bullet hole found in the master bedroom door It is believed that Paul had the door closed and that he had been ambushed by Leticia Leticia shot him several times and hid him in the head with the gun the attorney and one of his co-workers also alleged that Paul had told them about one night when he woke up to find Leticia crawling across his room Paul reportedly told his attorney that he used to keep the door of his room locked from then on Paul’s brother Mike said he had last met

with Paul in February while attending the Daytona 500 stock car race he also testified that Paul had told him about his marital problems and also alleged that Leticia was cheating on him Mike reminisced he’d been talking about divorce for weeks he told me she was cheating on him and that he had plenty of evidence he said he just needed her to get out of his house so he could have his life back the jury deliberated for an hour and 40 minutes on September 28th of 2012 Leticia was found guilty of taking Paul’s life and

larceny of a firearm she was sentenced to life without parole leticia’s appeal was denied in 2014. It is believed that she took Paul’s life because she did not want to give up the lifestyle he had given her she was a master manipulator and used Paul and several other men as per official records Leticia is presently incarcerated at Anson Correctional Institution in Polkton North Carolina