Michael Bizanowicz sexually assaulted Joanne Presti and killed her in 2004. The same day, he killed her daughter.
Joanne Presti is a victim of a 2004 double homicide in Massachusetts.
American Nightmares episode titled Too Close to Home showed the incident in detail.
Death: Massachusetts Joanne Presti Murder – Michael Bizanowicz Arrest Charges
Michael Bizanowicz murdered Joanne Presti back on 7 January 2004.
Annette, the victim’s mother, called 911 that day to report her daughter’s death. Sometimes later, the police arrived at the scene. The incident took place in a home in Woburn, Massachusetts.
The officers found the 34-year-old Joanne dead in the living room, naked down the waist. Restrained with duct tape, the murderer had beaten, sexually assaulted, and stabbed her.
Besides her, her 12-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was also the victim. The police found her dead body in the bedroom on the second floor. The perpetrator had slit her throat.
The officers then scouted the bedroom of John, two and a half years old son of Joanne. Fortunately, they found him alive. Nevertheless, he was dehydrated and had been there for several days. After the discovery, they took him to a hospital.
Then, an investigation kicked off. The medical examiner found semen on Joanne and the killer’s DNA on Alyssa’s fingernails.
The police then went through a few suspects, including A.J. Patel (the Presti’s neighbor and landlord), Todd Peters (Joanne’s ex and baby John’s father), and John Cummings (a local celebrity and Alyssa’s father).
Then finally, the investigators cracked the case after they had the lead on Michael, a level 3 sex offender. At the time of the murder, he was living with his girlfriend, Barbara James, in the neighborhood.
He had known Joanne through his girlfriend and had once been in her apartment for a birthday party. His DNA matched that of semen and the one under Alyssa’s nails. Likewise, police also found ropes in his truck, which had fibers of Joanne’s body.
The arrest followed soon after, and the authorities charged him with two counts of murder and one count of sexual assault, which he denied and went to trial. The court also found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison without parole possibility.
Joanne Presti Family
Joanne Presti was a single mother of three kids.
She was living with her family in Woburn, Massachusetts. Apart from her children, her mother is Annette Presti. She was part of a large Italian family.