(Saint-Jérôme) Nadia Panarello was murdered by a thief who “quite simply took the wrong house”. At least this is the thesis proposed by her husband in his insurance statement. The Crown concluded its evidence Monday at the trial of Ernesto Fera, accused of killing his wife in 2004 to collect $ 350,000 in insurance.
“We are going to have a brief defense, yes”, then announced Me Joseph La Leggia, Ernesto Fera’s lawyer. The defense must therefore begin Thursday at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse. It is not known whether the accused will be called to the stand. Ernesto Fera is accused of the first degree murder of his wife, which occurred on February 12, 2004, in the Vimont district in Laval. The 35-year-old has been stabbed around 30 times.
Judge James Brunton, however, already had an idea of Ernesto Fera’s version when he watched the video of the accused’s polygraph test on Monday in May 2004. At that time, it had been three months since Nadia Panarello had been found, the throat cut, in the toilet adjacent to the family room. No arrests had been made.
During the test, Ernesto Fera firmly denied killing his wife:
- “Have you ever thought about your wife being dead?”
- ” No ”
- “Never, never, never? ”
- ” No. ”
- […]
- “Nadia Panarello, did you kill her? ”
- ” No ”
- “Are you comfortable with that question”
- ” Yes ”
PHOTO FILED IN COURT
In the photo we can see the accused Ernesto Fera and the victim Nadia Panarello
According to his account, the accused was to drive their daughter to school that morning. Before leaving, he had taken care to put their golden retriever dog in a room. He had last seen his wife when she came downstairs to get her makeup bag.
Along the way, he tried to call her, as he usually did, but she did not answer. At around 10 a.m., Nadia’s office called him, since his wife had not shown up for work. Something was wrong. When he got home, the police and the ambulance were already there.
During his interrogation, Ernesto Fera refused to forgive his wife’s murderer. ” No. He took someone away from me. He took someone away from me, can you forgive yourself? There is no reason. The particularly bloody crime scene shows signs of a fight.
The mystery of this murder has long remained unresolved, as the police saw no sign of a break-in. No traces on the lock or footprints in the house or outside the house. Only two cigarette ends were found on the snow in front of the house.
PHOTO FILED IN COURT
Residence of the Fera-Panarello couple on rue Michel Gamelin in the Vimont area of Laval, February 12, 2004.
In his insurance claim, Ernesto Fera assumed that a thief had “committed the act” by mistaking his residence. However, he specified that the jewelry worn by his wife had not been stolen. Only the jewelry in the “madam’s office” were stolen, he adds in the document filed in evidence. According to the Crown’s evidence, other valuable jewelry was not stolen.
Before the death of his wife, Ernesto Fera was drowning in debt, $ 115,000. He was three months behind in his mortgage payments and his credit card was full. The couple could no longer even pay their school taxes and the registration fees for one of their vehicles.
PHOTO FILED IN COURT
Photo of the crime scene. The victim’s body is just below the image. The overturned lamp and shade show signs of a fight.
Shortly before Nadia Panarello’s murder, the accused asked an acquaintance to give him a loan of $ 120,000, but the latter refused. The accused then told him “to expect an inheritance of 175,000 euros”.
His wife’s life insurance allowed Ernesto Fera to pay off the mortgage on the house and all of his debts. He received a total of $ 350,000.
While the murder took place in 2004 in Laval, it wasn’t until 2019 that Ernesto Fera was arrested. Such a delay is extremely rare in a murder case in Quebec.
The prosecution is represented by Me Nektarios Tzortzinas, Me Steve Baribeau and Me Alexandre Dubois.