John Pagli, whose wife Stacey has been convicted for the death of their eighteen-year-old daughter Marisa, will apparently refuse to aid her defense in court.
Stacey Pagli strangled her daughter on Feb. 22 of t his year, then apparently attempted to commit suicide. John Pagli found both of them in the family's apartment on the Manhattanville College Campus, where Mr. Pagli works as a maintenance supervisor and Marisa Pagli attended as a freshman.
Mr. Pagli has declined to speak to Mrs. Pagli's lawyer, Westchester County prosecutor Tim Ward told the AP. Ward said that further attempts to contact him would constitute harrassment.
Defense Attorney Allan Focarile disagreed. "I have an obligation to talk to witnesses...I'm not harassing anyone. I'm doing my job," he told state Supreme Court Judge Albert Lorenzo, according to the wire.
Stacey Pagli will claim to have been under "extreme emotional duress" at the time of the killing, which, if accepted, could amend her conviction to manslaughter instead of murder. A psychiatrist will examine her.
According to police documents, Stacey Pagli said she killed her daughter because she "pushed my last button" but regrets killing her. "I can't make it better, she's not here anymore," the records quote her as saying.
Stacey Pagli also called herself and her daughter "baggage" for John Pagli, saying of him in the police records "Me and Marissa, we ruined his life."
