The man had taken out a $500,000 insurance policy. Three people face murder charges.
By Associated Press
Published October 10, 2004
HOLLY HILL - A widow is accused of helping plan the murder of her husband, which police say was fueled by a $500,000 insurance policy taken out by the plumber before his death.
Police arrested Karen Lynn Tobie, her friend, Lynne Marie Blake, and Tysjohaun Verdell Cooper on first-degree murder charges Friday in the June 30 killing of John Cataneo.
Tobie and Blake, 56, were being held without bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail. Cooper was already at the jail on an unrelated charge.
"This heinous crime can be summed up in one word - greed," said police Cmdr. Mark Barker.
Cataneo was fatally shot on the front porch of his duplex on the evening of June 30. His mother, Ann Cataneo, said there was a knock on the door and her son answered and walked outside.
Ann Cataneo heard four or five loud popping noises, according to the police report. Her son was shot four times at close range with a .22-caliber gun, police said.
Police said they discovered several inconsistencies in their interviews with Tobie and Blake, both of whom had moved to Seattle soon after the shooting. Investigators said Tobie, 39, offered Cooper $30,000 to kill her husband. The shooter had worked with Cataneo for 10 months as a plumber's assistant, Detective Joe Borelli said.
Police said the motive was the insurance policy that John Cataneo opened to financially ensure the future of his 2-year-old son, Louis.
Tobie was the beneficiary of the policy.
Police said Blake was a longtime friend who lived in the second apartment of the duplex owned by Cataneo.
