Hopatcong Murder Trial to Begin Next Week
Start date scheduled for Tuesday in Sussex County Superior Court.
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A start date has been scheduled in the trial of a Hopatcong man accused of killing borough resident Alyssa Ruggieri in 2010.
The trial of Giuseppe Tedesco will begin on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sussex County Superior Court in Newton, according to the office of Judge Peter Conforti.
Jury selection, which began Sept. 12, was completed more than a month after it began. The trial schedule runs to December, excepting Mondays and Fridays, and dates blocked out by Conforti’s other court duties and other contingencies.
Tedesco, of Hopatcong, is charged with murder, illegal possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in Ruggieri’s March 27, 2010 death. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 30 years to life.
In September Iacullo, as he had in January, asked the state to consider a lesser charge of aggravated manslaughter that would carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years and the possibility of a fine up to $200,000.
Pappas said the state rejected that offer.
In a January hearing Pappas said Tedesco and Ruggieri had exchanged text messages on March 27, 2010 during which Ruggieri refused to meet Tedesco, who had asked the woman to share in a birthday celebration.
When she refused, Pappas said, Tedesco took a weapon that was not registered to him from his home, drove to her Hopatcong neighborhood, and entered Ruggieri’s Durban Street home.
Inside, Pappas said, Tedesco shot Ruggieri six times, including two in the face.
In the process, he also shot himself in the hand, Pappas said. Leaving Ruggieri’s home, Pappas said, Tedesco called his home and spoke with his mother. He told her that he had shot himself “and that something might have happened at Ruggieri’s apartment,” according to Pappas.
At his home, Tedesco allegedly repeated what he told his mother, and was taken to the hospital. Only after that, Pappas said, were the police called. Police responded to Ruggieri’s home and discovered that she had been shot.
DD6479
3:22 pm on Thursday, October 25, 2012
People like this do not deserve a fair trial...
jazzman
11:05 am on Friday, October 26, 2012
quiet....dont say that you might contaminate the already seated jury,i for one would like to hear more..gagg
kgr40
11:05 am on Friday, October 26, 2012
If it started on Tuesday why no news yet.
jazzman
2:19 pm on Friday, October 26, 2012
my prediction,the morning of the trial and with the jury seated,will we then get a guilty plea from the defendant,a plea deal here already in the works....there is no defense for this crime,he brought the gun to the crime scene and basically killed her when she answered the door,she was completely innocent had no chance from this psychopath
johnnyi
10:38 am on Friday, November 16, 2012
He should be beaten to within an inch of his life, resuscitated and beaten again and again.
Maggie
10:59 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Maybe you should be beaten & as you said resuscitaed, but in your case, not . He deserves a trial. Don't be judge & jury !
The Watcher
10:22 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Alyssa deserved to live, she didn't get a trial
Maggie
12:12 am on Friday, December 7, 2012
Always remember that in this country all are innocent until proven guilty. Put yourself in that situation & you would expect the same courtesy. Wait & watch,.
The Watcher
9:26 am on Friday, December 7, 2012
@Maggie your comment "Maybe you should be beaten & as you said resuscitaed, but in your case, not" discredits your position. Johnnyi put forth his opinion your retort was a personal attack. We have all seen American jurisprudence manipulated, sometimes the guilty go free, but it does not make them "innocent".
We are entitled to our opinions, but let us not forget there are families who are devastated by this tragedy.
The "Original" Hopatcong Mom
9:26 am on Friday, December 7, 2012
I cannot put myself in that situation, because I am not a murderer!!
Maggie: how can you honestly defend someone who shot a young lady SIX times? Self defense would of been once! Someone of his size could have just "punched" her to make her suffer (still not a good idea, but at least she would be ALIVE).
This was premiditated to get his gun and return to her home....his intention all along was to kill her!! SIX TIMES!! I can't get over it!!
Justice
10:49 am on Sunday, December 16, 2012
You are not a murderer and neither is Joe!!!! Your information is so far fetched!!! You must be reading the newpapers which has written so much incorrect information. We will all soon find out the truth of what really happened that night....
Maybe you won't be so quick to judge.....
Tammy
9:26 am on Friday, December 7, 2012
Maggie-While he does deserve a trial under our laws he also deserves every harsh word that is being directed at him. There are a few known facts here: He went to her house with a weapon. He shot her six times, twice in her beautiful face. He left without calling for help for her. What exactly are you suggesting we wait and watch for? If you have any insight into how this possibly could be a self defense case please enlighten us. Courtesy? This man deserves a fair trial and an attorney, nothing more.
Justice
10:49 am on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Your known facts are incorrect!!!. That is what the newspapers/ media/prosecution wants everyone to believe and have said so many lies regarding this case. But the truth will soon come out. He is not a murder!!! And it will be proven!!!!
Betty Mechler
12:34 pm on Friday, December 14, 2012
Let's not forget that there are two families in pain (and all their friends too). My condolences go out to both.
Dawn
12:53 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013
Justice & Maggie : there's no point in telling you to eat your words because now we all know for a FACT that your friend "Joe" Is indeed a cold blooded murderer!! He should not even had been permitted to own a gun with ALL the other restaining orders he has had in the past for STALKING and abuse on other females!! His family should be very proud of the monster THEY created! What a disgrace!! His attack in the courtroom and the approval of his family tells a lot about how Alyssa must have felt trying to get away from those people!! May "JOE" ROTT IN HELL
Justice
9:18 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Dawn - you must NOT be a very intelligent person to be talking this way. The new rumor about Joe is he was stalking girls and abusing them. WOW!!! That's a good one, adding this one to the list. I believe it will never end from animals like you. The so called friends were brave to get on the stand and lie. I was SHOCKED when the mother remember 2 1/2 year later about the restraining order her daughter asked for. Never told the police anything when it happen until August of 2012. WOW!!!
Did you know Julia Barber came forward in August 2012, there was an 11 month investigation and her brother was one of the 23 arrested for purchasing/distribution of drugs 1000 feet from a school. The same day Julia testified her brother was arrested....and the photo taken of him, he was smiling. WOW!!!
And Leone and the Parisi family was the best they made a complete A$$e$ of themselves, they tripped up in there own lies on the stand. I have so much more to tell... it will come out later, I PROMISE!!!! Trial was a circus and the newspaper was joke in Sussex County. I positively know the judge will be given him life + 20, it's okay.... This is the just the beginning!!!! DAWN may you Rot in hell because that is where you're going. And by the way learn how to spell you inbred!!!!!
Kristen
9:36 pm on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
real nice..justice. So everything you say is true though right? because you were there when he brutally murdered this young lady? you are really the one making an ass of yourself. if it was your daughter that was shot six times i bet it would be a whole different story. your ignorant and need to wake the hell up. It must be real nice living in lala land. Evidence says it all. He can make up any story he wants. He had a long time to sit in jail and come up with it. She cannot speak for herself because he killed her. Over killed her. Other peoples problems and arrests have nothing to do with it. Your just looking for excuses but you need to come back to reality and realize he brutally murdered a young girl and thats that. no excuses. He needs to pay for his actions. The least him and his family can do is show a little remorse for her and her family and they cant even get that. It makes no sense to be mad at her friends and family when they did nothing wrong they deserve justice for their daughter.