I don't remember this case at first read but I'm sure many regulars will. Tonight I was scanning the Miami Herald and this article announced a break in an '89 case that was profiled on UM and also AMW. A paralegal named Marisa Maugeri was murdered outside a Publix supermarket in northeast Miami on Thanksgiving eve, during a flubbed robbery attempt: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13779157.htm

"The senseless murder of the paralegal -- and sister-in-law of an FBI agent -- was baffling. Reenactments of the killing were made. Stories aired on Unsolved Mysteries and America's Most Wanted.

A psychic even offered her services.

Maugeri died Nov. 22, 1989, and for 16 years, the case against Maugeri's killer remained unsolved.

North Miami police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Thursday that an arrest has been made in Maugeri's killing, thanks to a tipster armed with fresh information about the crime.

Charged with first-degree murder: Thomas L. Pennington, 32, already behind bars in an upstate prison on an unrelated attempted murder charge.

He was a teenager when he killed Maugeri, police said.

''It's very gratifying for me,'' said FDLE Special Agent Tony Ojeda, who worked the case in 1989 as a North Miami detective.

On the night of Nov. 22, 1989, Ojeda and other detectives were called to Publix on Northeast Sixth Avenue and 128th Street. Maugeri and her sister had gone to the supermarket to buy a turkey and trimmings.

As the women shopped, a silver or silver-gray van pulled up to Maugeri's Mercedes, its grille facing the driver door.

They left the crowded supermarket after 10 p.m.

A bag boy and Maugeri's sister waited as Maugeri walked to the car. The paralegal opened the door, got in and locked the door.

The shooter got out of the van and tried to open Maugeri's door. Panicking, Maugeri managed to start the car.

She turned to look at him. He shot through the car window, hitting her once through the eye.

Aided by the FBI, North Miami detectives initially began interviewing witnesses and looking for a young Hispanic man in his late teens with dark hair to his shoulders.

The break came in 2003, police say, when someone came forward with information that only someone with intimate knowledge of the case would know.

The tipster -- police declined to say who -- provided information about the gun used and the van, which had been stolen the day before the shooting."

I read about that in the news section of Google. I remember in the early '90s that AMW profiled a case about a woman who was murdered at the parking lot of a grocery store the evening before Thanksgiving. I only saw the segment once, and didn't remember the victim's name. But when I read about the arrest, I figured that this must have been the case in question.

However, having watched UM since March 1989, I can't remember having seen this case on UM (even though the article said it was profiled on UM, in addition to AMW). But I'm assuming that it was one of those cases briefly displayed on the show's "special bulletin" segments, and perhaps never rerun on Lifetime.

In any case, I'm glad to hear that another scumbag's days of getting away with murder are almost numbered.

I read about that in the news section of Google. I remember in the early '90s that AMW profiled a case about a woman who was murdered at the parking lot of a grocery store the evening before Thanksgiving. I only saw the segment once, and didn't remember the victim's name. But when I read about the arrest, I figured that this must have been the case in question.

However, having watched UM since March 1989, I can't remember having seen this case on UM (even though the article said it was profiled on UM, in addition to AMW). But I'm assuming that it was one of those cases briefly displayed on the show's "special bulletin" segments, and perhaps never rerun on Lifetime.


I agree that's the likely scenario, a special bulletin not a full segment or even prominent mention. I have a vague memory of hearing about this case but no images of a segment or any specifics. There was nothing on the UM or even AMW websites; no search results or mention of this arrest.

Here is one more link on this case. The suspect, Thomas Pennington, was only 14 years old at the time of the murder and apparently the sole motive was trying to steal Maugeri's purse: http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/press_releases/20060202_Thomas_Pennington.html