Man told wife ‘you will never leave this marriage’ before stabbing her to death

A builder who stabbed his wife and stepson to death rather than accept a divorce has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for their murder.

Calogero Ricotta, 64, told his wife Maria Nugara that ‘dead or alive, you will never leave this marriage’, before stabbing his stepson when he tried to intervene.

Maria, 54, and her 29-year-old son Giuseppe Morreale, also known as Joe, were killed at the family home in Essex on May 28 last year.

In her sentencing remarks, Justice Dame Mary Stacey said: ‘Joe’s courage standing up to you is in stark contrast to the cowardly way you killed both of them.’

Ricotta’s ‘vanity, pride and ego meant (he) would not agree to a divorce’ and instead he ‘tried to intimidate Maria into staying in a loveless marriage’, the judge added.

The Italian, originally from Sicily, denied the charged but will now be locked up for a minimum 34 years before being considered for release.

Detective Inspector Lydia George, senior investigating officer in the Serious Crime Directorate, called the double murderer ‘calculating, controlling and violent’.

She said: ‘Joe intervened to try and protect his mother to the end, however, he received horrific injuries that ultimately took his life.

‘Ricotta then refused to admit to his crimes, subjecting all their loved ones to months of stress and turmoil.

‘His claims of self-defence were completely dismantled by the evidence our officers compiled for this case.

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‘He now faces spending the rest of his life in prison.’

Maria feared her husband could turn violent and was trying to leave him in the lead up to the violent attack.

Det Insp George said: ‘Maria had confided in those she trusted that Ricotta scared her, that she felt she was in danger.

‘She was taking steps to catalogue his escalating behaviour and to remove him from his life.

‘Ricotta’s violence that day was evident, but our investigation proved beyond doubt that his hatred of Maria for trying to leave him was the motivation.’

Maria and Joe were called ‘kind and pure-hearted people’ by their family.

They described Maria as the ‘most beautiful person inside and out’, adding: ‘She was kind, caring and clever with a cracking sense of humour.’

‘Her voice was an integral part of our day that is now missing, that we will never hear again,’ the statement continued.

‘She was always there to listen to us and our problems, which now seem so small in comparison to what she was dealing with.’

Joe was labelled a hero by his loved ones: ‘The last thing he did was try and save his mum; he is the bravest person we have ever known – he was our hero.

‘Joe was a free spirit. He was determined to make his life better, he was making his life better, before it was so cruelly ripped away from him.’

Ricotta was also found guilty of a charge of actual bodily harm in respect of a youth who was present in the house.

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