By STEVEN REILLY
sreilly@njherald.com
The 2010 murder of a 22-year-old Hopatcong woman allegedly began when Giuseppe Tedesco, 26, invited the victim Alyssa Ruggieri, 22, through text messages, to go out and celebrate his birthday and spend some time with him.
When she said no, Tedesco allegedly texted her again and asked if she was home alone.
He then allegedly got his .25-caliber Beretta handgun and drove to her house. He reportedly parked his car blocks away, took his gun, and walked the rest of the way to her house.
Ruggieri reportedly voluntarily let him into her home, where Tedesco is accused of shooting her six times, including at least two times in her face, before leaving her for dead.
The chilling account of the murder of Ruggieri was told in open court by Sussex County assistant prosecutor Seana Pappas during a pre-trial hearing for Tedesco held in state Superior Court in Newton on Monday. A trial has been scheduled for June 5.
Tedesco is charged with first-degree murder, possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for unlawful purposes.
According to Pappas, Tedesco had known Ruggieri for a couple of years, but it was unclear if they had a romantic relationship. On March 27, 2010, Tedesco allegedly texted Ruggieri "several times to discuss going out together for his birthday," Pappas said.
When Ruggieri reportedly declined to go, Tedesco allegedly got his gun and drove over to her house. According to police reports, there was no sign of forced entry, leading prosecutors to believe Ruggieri let him into her home.
It was at this time, Pappas said, that Tedesco shot her six times, before fleeing the victim's home and driving back to his home in Hopatcong.
When Tedesco arrived home, he had a gunshot wound to his hand, and was driven to Dover Hospital by his father, but the police were never called, Pappas said.
Police were eventually called by concerned family members of the victim, who was later found dead in her home from the gunshot wounds.
Tedesco faces life-plus-20-years in state prison for the alleged shooting death of Ruggieri.
According to Pappas, he was offered a plea deal that would put him in state prison for 30 years before being eligible for parole.
When State Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti asked Tedesco if he was informed of the charges against him, and the terms of the plea agreement, Tedesco said "I did. And I'm rejecting it."
Anthony Iacullo, the Nutley attorney representing Tedesco, said he plans to use a self-defense argument to defend his client against the charges.
Iacullo filed two motions with the court at the pre-trial proceedings. One motion seeks to suppress any prior offenses Tedesco has, and the second motion seeks to suppress testimony from a "jail house informant," Iacullo said. The Prosecutor's Office has 45 days to respond to those motions.
Tedesco has been held in the Sussex County jail on $1 million bail since his arrest.
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