Butler, NJ: Police: Wheelchair-bound wife kills husband in Butler

Saturday, May 22, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY MAY 22, 2010, 8:49 PM
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
NORTHJERSEY.COM

BUTLER — A wheelchair-bound woman allegedly shot and killed her husband Saturday morning in their home, authorities said.


GEORGE MCNISH/SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Morris county prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi (with back to camera) speaks with investigators at the scene of a fatal shooting in a house on Roosevelt Avenue in Butler.
Amalia Mirasola, 44, was arrested in the death of her husband, Carl Mirasola, 43, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said at a press conference Saturday.

Amalia Mirasola was taken into custody at the couple’s Roosevelt Avenue home after officers found Carl Mirasola’s body in a bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

At about 8:06 a.m. on Saturday, a 911 call was made from inside of the house to the Butler Police, reporting a gunshot, Bianchi said.

The couple’s three children were at home at the time but were not in danger, Bianchi said. He would not say whether the children, a 14-year-old and 7-year-old twins, according to neighbors, witnessed the shooting.

The children were with family on Saturday, he said.

Bianchi would not speculate on what could have led to the shooting.

“It’s under investigation,” Bianchi said at the conference on Roosevelt Avenue. “So, all we are releasing at this time is that the wife is in custody for allegedly shooting her husband, and the investigation will be ongoing.”

Robert Stack, a Kinnelon attorney who said he represented Amalia Mirasola, said that his client was planning to file a petition for divorce this week. He said the petition was already drafted.

“It was prepared and not filed,” Stack said. “(Carl Mirasola) was aware of it.”

Stack said Amalia Mirasola has no memory of the incident. He also said she is the registered owner of a handgun.

“She is definitely blank as to anything that took place," he said.

Stack said Amalia Mirasola was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2004. The couple had been married since June 1990, Stack said.

Stack said Saturday his client would be moved from police custody to Morristown Memorial Hospital late Saturday due to her illness and mental state.