Jonathan Crupi: Where is The Killer Husband Now?

Image Credit: Simeonette Mapes-Crupi/MySpace

The episode ‘Staten Island Love Story’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘American Monster’ delves into the intricacies of the murder case of a popular teacher Simeonette Mapes-Crupi at the hands of someone she held closest to her heart, her husband Jonathan Crupti. What seemed like a burglary gone wrong turned out to be something way more sinister upon further investigation as the detectives looked to get to the bottom of the case and serve justice.

Who is Jonathan Crupi?

Born in January 1982, Jonathan Crupi first crossed paths with Simeonette Mapes-Crupi in college as they shared the dream of becoming teachers. Thanks to this primary similarity, the two hit it off from the get-go. After spending some time together, they tied the knot in 2007 and then settled down in a new place. While Simeonetter found a gig at The School for Classics in Brooklyn for teaching social studies, Jonathan failed his teaching exam and had to pay $25,000 for him to take the exam again. After finishing his degree later on, he got a job at the same school as his wife and taught English.

Image Credit: True Crime Daily/YouTube

Sometime later, the couple decided to level up their education and get their Master’s degree, for which they joined the College of Staten Island. On the outside, they had a picture-perfect marriage, always loving and respectful toward each other. However, things were far from it in reality. During a 4th of July party in 2012, the signs of their troubled married life came forward as they left early to headed home after Simeonette atated she was not feeling so good because of something her husband did. It turns out their issues existed due to him getting involved with sex workers on the regular and telling countless lies to his wife.

In the end, the following day, on July 5, 2012, Jonathan reportedly pushed Simeonette down the stairs of their New Springville condo at 1446 Forest Hill Road and stabbed her 15 times in the back and neck to kill her. This was merely days prior to their fifth wedding anniversary. He then staged the scene and made it look like a burglary gone wrong before heading out to meet with one of his favorite sex workers, Miss Pumpkin. Upon returning home at around 2:30 p.m., he called 911 and frantically claimed his wife had been murdered. When the authorities arrived and questioned him about his whereabouts at the time of the crime, he told them that he had left in the morning to run some errands and pick up some books she needed for school.

Although the investigators had Jonathan as their prime suspect from the get-go, they could not find anything concrete or incriminating against him initially. On the day of Simeonette’s funeral, July 10, 2012, he sobbed continuously and even placed two long-stemmed roses as well as a wrapped bouquet on her casket, making it seem like he really was a grieving widower. There was some progress on the case when investigators subsequently decided to look into his internet search history of the suspect and found out that he had searched for things like “how to throat slash,” “how to clean up a crime scene,” and “what destroys DNA.”

The police also came to the conclusion that Jonathan late wife had probably confronted him about his involvement with sex workers and his lies about dedicatingly completing his Master’s degree, which led to him killing her in a fit of blind rage. So, after months and months of carefully investigating the matter, in November 2012, the authorities finally charged Jonathan Crupi with murder and criminal possession of a weapon and arrested him at his mother’s Brooklyn house, where he had been staying since the homicide.

Jonathan Crupi is Still Behind Bars Today

Jonathan Crupi’s trial commenced in November 2012, where he pleaded not guilty to the slaying of his late wife, Simeonette. During the ensuing five-weeks of prceedings, the prosecutors presented several incriminating pieces of evidence against the 33-year-old, asserting that he was the only one with a motive and the means to commit the deed. After deliberating for just a couple of hours, the jury returned with a guilty verdict, convicting Jonathan of the second-degree murder charge concerning Simeonette 2012 death.

Nevertheless, Jonathan still claimed innocence and addressed the victim’s family directly before his sentencing, saying, “My lies and infidelity should never have played out in such a public forum. I’d like to apologize to my wife’s family. There is one thing I cannot apologize for. I did not kill her. I am an innocent man.” Yet, with all the evidence plus his conviction, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on September 23, 2015. About four years down the line, in May 2019, he appealed his term, only for it to be denied. Therefore, today, with Jonathan’s parole release eligibility dated in 2037, he’s incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility at 1156 Cook Street in Dannemora, where he still maintains his innocence.

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