Cop Kills Girlfriend Then Himself in the Bronx

Police are investigating the murder-suicide of an 18-year-old woman and a 40-year-old police officer. When 7-year veteran officer Fred Maselli didn't show up for work at the 34th Precinct, his colleagues were sent to his apartment at 3611 Henry Hudson Parkway West to investigate and found Maselli's body as well as the blood-soaked body of Shirley Fontanez.

Fontanez, who had a 3-year-old son and had been dating Maselli for two years, was shot three times in the stomach and twice in the head. Maselli, who had two children from a previous marriage, was found shot in the head, with a gun nearby. It's believed they died on Sunday, as a neighbor said he heard shots Sunday morning. Izzy Marcus, who was friends with Maselli, told the Post, "I heard, Pop! Pop! I heard five shots. I heard them very clear," but he thought they were from kids.

Fontanez's mother wants justice for her daughter. According to the Daily News, Maria Espinoza said that her daughter and Maselli had been dating since Fontanez was 16, "She used to go to the precinct with him. Everybody knew about the relationship, but they covered it up." She added that Fontanez, who had passed the police test and was interested in becoming a cop, was going to leave Maselli, "He killed her over jealousy. I can't believe he took my daughter like that. I knew him for years."

The NY Times spoke a friend of Fontanez's, who said, "I was like, ‘Why are you still with this guy?’” but Fontanez responded, “Because he will kill me.”

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on July 24, 2007 8:03 AM

Comments [rss]

guest

First off RIP SHIRLEY... well I wasnt mad cool with her but she went to Jr. High with me the mothe on the other hand happened to be my mothers friend etc.. n its so easy to pass judgment n say where was she when her daughter was pregnant... from what i saw shirley was kinda rebelious but thing were starting to change n overall she seemed better just she would always buy clothes where i work ... just the other day i heppened to see her n she seemed fine.

N the mother did do a lot for her daughter... n from a personal experience us (sons n daughters..) in the long run do what we wanna do.. for the most part if ur mom dad do not like ur gf or bf we are simply like iight w/e since im gonna b the one to date the person not them so back off ..

My mother went to the funeral n whoa as u can xpect it the mother is devastted ... Que dios te tnga n su gloria y k descanses en paz shirley

guest

Wow, rapists, mob hit-men, drug dealers, jack asses that can't shoot properly these are "New York's Finest". Way to go NYPD, the whole world is laughing at you.

guest

For the record, I believe the age of consent in NY is 17, not 18 or 16.

Reality Czech

One less arrogant police officer patrolling the streets. GOOD!

guest

Not passing judgement but a 16 year old girl who already had a child is not an innocent but that in no way excuses a middle aged man's creepy and violent behavior.

The mother seems to have lost her sense of a mother's duty to protect her child and it is only now when she smells a city payday that there is any sort of remorse.

Where was this mother when that child was 15 and pregnant?

zodak

there's always using a payphone 2 make an anonymous tip about a dirty pig who has threatened your friend.

guest

umm, one party has guns and a gang who could make your life miserable. guess which one will always win?

JRod5417

There is plenty of blame to go around for this tragedy, so there is no need to place it all on either the precinct or her family. Going back to what guest #3 said as to authority figures, maybe her Mom was afraid to complain because she isn't a legal US resident. There's always a back story.

zodak

hey #5, i don't like cops. i don't expect them 2 actually protect the innocent, let alone a latina from the bronx, which makes it the mother's responsibility 2 protect her from pigs, especially an old 1 that is raping her daughter. IA is going 2 get nowhere in that precinct now that the girl is dead. also, i doubt her friends have never heard of L&O: SVU so there is no excuse 4 the fact that her family & friends let her down.

guest

they showed a picture of the girl on the news and

she is a girl. she looks very young.

guest

Looks like someone took too many naive pills this morning...

I'm sure he was just buying her icecream and giving her innocent pecks on her forehead for two years until she turned 18 when they finally caved and started holding hands.

All we're going to get from the precinct that knew about this relationship is the "Blue Wall of Silence."

JRod5417

Spirit- There is no way this relationship was platonic until she turned legal. It's safe to assume that this 16 year old mom was sexually active. You are giving this cop way too much credit.

Spirit of 76

Aren't you guys getting a little ahead of yourselves? Yes, this relationship was extremely inappropriate and finally tragic. I, for one, would never date someone young enough to be my daughter. But nowhere does it say they actually slept together before she turned 17. Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, but you can't just outright say there was statutory rape without evidence. Go ahead and blame the cops for what they actually do, but don't make up things.

guest

so you're 38, you're a cop, and you have the hots for this 16 year old girl who has a 1 year old baby. you end up dating her for 2 years and i the end shoot her, and yourself.

is it any wonder why some people have no respect for those in uniform? they let freaks like this into the force.

guest

call me crazy but this time I believe the cop.

it's like why are my yahoo story ratings are always the opposite of America's ratings.

guest

Hey #1, whether the mother reported it or not, it's still rape, it's a crime, and the police knew a crime was being commited, and did nothing about it.

Why are you trying to make an excuse for this Fred Manelli and the officers at the 34th precient?

JMH

So, ew. Creepy.

guest

Something about this kid being sexually involved with a police officer, and nobody saying anything about the statutory rape that's happening makes me think about the way priests use their authority to take advantage of underage victims. Probably her mother didn't even dare to think about it, faced with the uniform. A lot of people have an inordinate (albeit inexplicable to me) respect for men in robes/uniform. On the other hand, if his colleagues knew about it, they should be held responsible for allowing it to happen without saying anything. They were complicite in her rape.

JRod5417

WTF!!! Talk about this being a totally preventable tragedy. How could her mother let this girl date a 40 year old? If everyone at the precinct knew, why didn't his supervisors sit him down and set him straight? This is truly bizarre.