A 90-year-old stepfather has been arrested for the killing of his 67-year-old stepdaughter.
According to HuffPost, on September 13, a California pharmacy technician, Karen Navarra, was found deceased by one of her co-workers who went to check on her when she failed to show up for work.
Navarra appeared to have been stabbed numerous times.
The San Jose investigators who responded to the crime scene described the body as having “multiple deep and intrusive wounds” on her head and a “gaping laceration” on her neck.
As HuffPost reports, a knife was also found in Navarra’s hand in order to stage the killing as a suicide.
However, investigators say the wounds found on her body could not have been self-inflicted, adding that the wounds were not caused by a knife but that they were caused by an ax or a hatchet.
Now, police are saying that her stepfather, 90-year-old Anthony “Tony” Aiello, was the last person to see her alive.
Aiello is married to Navarra’s 92-year-old mother.
According to reports, Aiello said he last saw his stepdaughter on September 8 when he dropped off a pizza and biscotti at her home.
He added that he and Navarra talked for about 15 minutes before leaving.
Aiello also claimed that he saw his stepdaughter drive past his house later that same day. He told investigators that he saw someone else in the car with Navarra. It’s unclear if he was able to tell authorities who that other person was.
Police used the Fitbit that Navarra was found wearing to prove that Aiello’s story couldn’t be true.
According to authorities, information gathered from the fitness watch revealed a “significant spike” in her heart rate at 3:20 p.m. the same afternoon Aiello claimed to have dropped off pizza and biscotti. The significant spike was then reportedly followed “by a rapid slowing of her heart rate.”
Eight minutes later, the Fitbit stopped registering.
As HuffPost reports, surveillance footage confirmed that Aiello’s car was parked outside of Navarra’s home from 3:12 p.m. to 3:33 p.m., meaning he was with Navarra at the time authorities believe she died.
The surveillance footage also showed that Navarra never left her house after Aiello’s visit, debunking his story that he saw her driving past his house.
Authorities also found “deposits of blood [that] were not localized in one area and were more consistent with splatter” on one of Aiello’s shirts.
He reportedly told authorities that “he might have cut his hand and shaken it while he was wearing those shirts.”
Court documents also stated that despite the evidence against him, Aiello is maintaining his innocence:
After explaining the abilities of the Fitbit to record time, physical movement and heart rate data, he was informed that the victim was deceased prior to his leaving the house. Aiello stated that could not be true because she had walked him to the door when he left the residence.
Aiello added that “someone else might have been in the house.”
The 90-year-old was eventually arrested September 25 and is being held on the suspicion of murder without bail.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Mike Montonye or Detective Brian Meeker of the San Jose Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283.