Alexander Fazzino
Charges were filed Monday in the death of a Boone woman back in January of 2012. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent in charge, Mike Mottsinger, made the announcement at a news conference in Boone.
“After a year-long investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Boone Police Department, we’re proud to announce 39-year-old Alexander Joseph Fazzino was arrested and charged with the murder in the first degree, which is a class A felony. Fazzino is charged with killing his wife, 32-year-old wife Emily,” Mottsinger says.
Fazzino had been living with his parents near Kansas City and was arrested in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Boone Police say Fazzino called 9-1-1 around eight p-m on January 29, 2012 and said his wife was attempting to kill herself. Mottsinger says officers became suspicious right away after finding Emily Fazzino in the bathroom.
“The Boone Police Department responded rather quickly — were there soon after the 9-1-1 call — and she was cold to the touch at that point, so, we can’t really go into the specific timeline at this point,” Mottsinger says. He says there wasn’t anyone else at the home other than Alexander and the couple’s three kids at the time police arrived. And there were other things that led to the determination that the death was not accidental.
“Responding officers when they got there found bruising to the forehead and the autopsy revealed there was some bruising around the neck area, which led them to say the cause of death was due to neck compressions, and or drowning,” Mottsinger says. “So, with the bruising and everything, that’s what led them to their final conclusion.”
Mottsinger explained why it took a long time to bring the charges. “Obviously with a case like this, you have a lot of interviews, a lot of witnesses and you have to rely on a lot of autopsy stuff. And part of that is you have to go out and find some experts in different related fields, and that was one of the issues here,” Mottsinger says.
“We just wanted to make sure it was a thorough and complete investigation. We weren’t in a rush to charge anyone, we wanted to be sure everything was done completely and thoroughly, which led us to this time today.” Mottsinger says Alexander Fazzino is being held in Missouri on a one-point-five million dollar bond awaiting extradition back to Iowa.
By Jim Turbes, KWBG, Boone/ Photo courtesy of Iowa DCI