November 7, 2024 • 36 mins
Las Cruces, New Mexico was shattered by a triple homicide in 2010. Investigators believed the prime suspect, Gino Ferri, was behind the murders. As Ferri dodged authorities, tension mounted until a risky white-collar crime strategy finally put him behind bars. But even with Ferri in custody, the search for the murder weapon continued.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
The pressure was on Las Crusis police to solve what
was called the worst killing in twenty years.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We never had a case where three people have been killed,
all in one home and all at one time.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
For Prosecutor Amy Orlando, the unsolved case shattered this safe
and affluent community.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
People were concerned and they were fearful. That was something
very unusual for our community.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
But the suspect would turn the police's investigation inside out.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
These guys think they're their gods was power. Well, I'm
not a god, but I have powers of a god,
and I'm going to show them what the powers are.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Today, we're back in the remote hills of Las Cruces,
New Mexico, for the conclusion of Murder in the Desert.
I'm Sloan Glass and this is American Homicide. The views
and opinions expressed are solely those of the individuals participating.
This podcast also contained subject matter which may not be
(01:01):
suitable for all audiences. Discretion is advised.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
New Mexico is an odd state because if you go
up to northern New Mexico, you're going to just see
a lot more museums and a lot of art. And
then you get down south and We're still kind of
slow moving here.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Los cruzz is where Ami Orlando started her nineteen year
career as a prosecutor.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We don't honk it people a lot when they're going
the wrong way, you're going too slow. I like to
think we're a little bit more friendly. We have a
lot of ranchers and farmers here, and then we have
I think five or six Starbucks, and so I think
that tells you kind of size of what we.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Are actually lost. Cruisez is a city of one hundred thousand,
but those who live there say it feels like a
small town.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I like that it feels safe and that we lock
our doors, but you can still walk around at night.
You don't feel like you just have to rush to
your car when you're leaving the mall. We have our crime,
but we have great law enforcement, and it just feels
like it's still safe.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That safe feeling was shattered in twenty ten following the
triple murder of Jill and Helga Delile and Peter wife.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
This was the biggest homicide that we had had since
the eighties, and trust me, as the prosecutor leading kind
of the legal part of it and working with law enforcement,
we all foult that stress because we did not want
to be, you know, the group that went down to
not solve a triple homicide, which was our biggest case
(02:34):
of that nature in Las Cruses.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
As the months passed, it appeared from the outside that
the investigation had stalled, but the reality was very different.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
We narrowed in on kind of one suspect and his
name was Gino Ferry.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Gino Ferry was a contractor who did some business with
the victims, but the deal went south after Gino's tap
climbed above one million dollars. Jill sued him, but Gino
filed for bankruptcy. A lengthy court battle ensued the day
before the conclusion of that trial. Jill, his wife Helga,
and his business partner Peter whythe were murdered.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Gino claims he had an alibi and had nothing to
do with it, and so we knew we had to
prove it.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
By the spring of twenty eleven, nearly a year after
the murders, a witness named Ricky Huckabee began cooperating with investigators.
Ricky was a convicted felon who served ten years in
prison and later did some odd jobs with Gino including
driving Gino to the Delio's house on the day of
the murders.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
He tells us the events that happened up to the
killing of the victims.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
There was no question Ricky was afraid of Gino, so
the police offer to protect him. In return, Ricky would
record his conversations with Gino. But getting Gino to talk
freely about murdering three people wasn't easy.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
So Miss Tugby I think was getting a little frustrated
with Gino because he always talking circles. He knew what
to say without saying anything we tell him. You just
got to try and get him to talk about it.
But you can't put words in his mouth. But you
got to get him to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
One afternoon, Ricky found a way.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
There's one point in the investigation where he said to Gino, well,
would you really do it again? Would you do anything different?
And Gino said to him, yes, I would do it again.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
As open and shot of a confession as that seems,
it still wasn't enough for the DA. They were still
building their case. That became a familiar refrain to Detective
Robin Glickovic.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
We were frustrated. It was already almost a year, we're
still gathering evidence. We want to put this guy away.
We know for a fact that he killed these people,
but yet he's still walking the streets, our streets and
our community where our families live, and he's dangerous and
to the point where we as detectives have to take
(04:55):
different routes home because he knows where we live.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Investigators started looking over their shoulders because Gino seemed to
be watching them.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
He was a type of individual that thought he was
smarter on everybody and he could get away with anything
that he did, and we needed to keep an eye
on him to prevent other crimes from happening, and had
to prevent him from leaving town. Mexico's right there, and
he had the money to leave.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
At one point, Detective's place what's called a bird dog
or a GPS tracker on Gino's vehicle. That same day,
something unsettling happened.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
We went back to the Sheriff's department, did a briefing.
Then Gino Ferry was parked across the street and just
sitting there. It was almost like he was conducting his
own surveillance on us, and he had the mentality of
like he was like the Godfather.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
You know, I know this sounds more and more like
a movie plot, but it wasn't. These were real cops
in New Mexico trying to put this guy away, all
while looking over their shoulders and worrying about their loved
one safety. But if they arrested Geno now without a
formal charge, there would be nothing keeping him in police custody.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
And from that point we almost took a different path
on getting Geno.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Ferry authorities went after Gino the same way law enforcement
took down old school gangsters like al Capone.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Okay, if we can't get him on the homicide right now,
let's get him on a white collar crime.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Detectives knew that Gino had gone through bankruptcy proceedings and
in digging deeper, he had just gotten divorced. Police took
that information and connected it to a tip that Ricky
Huckabee provided. He said that Gino had a bunch of
storage units where he hit property and assets from the courts,
which is against the law.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
He had cars at one point, he had preschool stuff
like chairs and desks and stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
But more than just preschool furniture turned up.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
We found over one hundred guns in multiple large safes
that belonged to Geno.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
The detectives must have been thrilled. This was the breakthrough
they were looking for. But none of the guns matched
up with the bullets found at the crime scene. But
then something odd happened. When detectives opened the door to
another of the storage units. They were speechless.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
We found over five hundred animals like exotic animals like lions, tigers,
full size animals, bears, deer, elk, rhinos.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Just to be clear, these animals weren't alive. They were
stuffed and mounted. Not to mention some of them were
endangered species.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
He claimed he was going to use the animals for
a museum here in Las Crusis. In my career, I've
never seen anything like it.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
These hundreds of stuffed, life size animals that Gino had
hidden were valued at and get this, one point two
five million dollars, and hiding those assets from the courts
is a crime known as possession of encumbered property.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
We can get this guy, we can get him off
the streets. So using the white collar crime to get
him off the streets was the way we needed to go,
so we could actually take our time on the homicide
and get everything that we needed to make sure it
was a solid case so he would not get out.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
On April eighth, twenty twelve, police went to the DA
to state their case. They had Geno's tape confession to
Ricky Huckabee. They also had him on encumbered property. Plus
there was the growing fear that Gino was stalking them
and could retaliate.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
He's a scary guy, and we don't want that kind
of person in our community.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
This time, the district attorney had a change of heart.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
He gave me the green light. You have enough to
make an arrest on this guy.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Just a couple of days, shy of the one year
mark of the murders, detectives finally got a warrant for
Geno Faery's arrest.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
I was super excited, super nervous, super anxious, and then
I get a phone call saying we're tracking him. He's
a leaving town.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
The GPS tracker on Gino's vehicle showed Gino heading south
for the border.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
We thought that somehow he had found out that we
were about to charge him, and we think he's fleeing.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Sergeant Joe Renaut knew Gino had a second home in Mexico.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
And so we did not want him to hide down
there because he had the funds. We believed he had
money stashed and other items possibly that he could turn
over for money.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Aside from a lengthy extradition process, the authorities had other fears.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
You had tons of guns, long range rifles and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And the race to catch Geno Faery on.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
That day was very intense.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
I ten is the highway from Las cruzz that leads
to Mexico. That afternoon, it quickly filled with squad cars
heading south.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
We have other units, other detectives going. Everybody is just
anxious about getting this guy.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Authorities believe they could catch Gino just north of the
border in El Paso, which is about forty five miles away.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
We tracked them through GPS on a laptop.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
The birddog they placed on Gino's vehicle allowed them to
follow his every move.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
It's about a forty five minute drive depending on traffic,
and doing over one hundred miles an hour. It took
us about twenty minutes.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Finally, the string of cop cars caught up with Gino's
vehicle in El Paso. That's where they were joined by
El Paso police and the swat team.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
We get to Al Paso. We're in communication with El
Paso Police Department. He's here at this location. He's at
this intersection.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Investigators watched as Gino pulled into a parking lot in
a secluded area and we.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Call him and like move now, move now, and so
Apasto PDI. We all move in on him as he's
getting out of the vehicle and we're able to get
him right there at the vehicle.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Police arrested Geno Faerry without incident and charged him with
concealing and encumbered property.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
They take him to Al Paso Sheriff's department and we
go up there to see if he will give us
a statement, and of course he said he didn't want.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
To talk to us.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Even with Geno in custody, the police had work to do.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
It's not over. We still needed the murder weapon. And
once we put him in jail, Ricky Huckaby was just like, okay,
let's talk.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Did Ricky Huckaby, the man who told police he drove
Geno Ferry to the Delios home the day they were murdered,
no more than he was letting on And if he did,
what was he holding back detectives were to find out.
(12:07):
Police charged Geno Faerry with concealing and comfort property and
they believed he was also responsible for the murders of
Jill and Helga Delia and Peter Wife. For Sergeant Renault
and his team to charge Geno for those crimes, they
needed to find the murder weapon.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
The crime lab calls us, and they did, in fact
confirm that all three were killed with a nine milimeter handgun,
which was an oozy type weapon which leaves very distinctive marks.
We eventually discovered that Gino owned a weapon like this.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
That information came courtesy of their informant, Ricky Huckabee. With
Gino now behind bars, Ricky seemed more at ease and
revealed some additional information about what happened after the murders
when Gino went to a public bathroom at a park
to change his clothes.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Ricky remembered that when Gino had arrived back at the
park where they had planned to meet, Gino had gone
into the portable outdoor bathroom latrine and he walked in
with a buffel bag, and he walked out without the bag,
and as soon as he got back in the car,
(13:16):
he looked at Ricky and said, man, I think I
just woke up. And as time went on, and as
we started to work together, he started to realize, you know,
I think maybe the gun's in there.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
So if Gino did dispose of his murder weapon in
that park outhouse, the chances of finding a gun in
an outhouse toilet a year later we're slim to night.
But for Sergeant Renault, it was worth a look.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
And I said, shine a light down that dang toilet,
please and tell me what you see. He calls me back,
He says, I see a lot of crap. And I said, well,
what else do you see? He says, I see a gun.
It looks like an oozy. It's literally half a mile
from our department. I hauled by there and I looked
(14:01):
in the toilet. Sure enough, there it was just laying there,
straight down.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
On the bottom of the outhouse toilet sat the murder weapon.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
This gun's been sitting in this toilet for a year.
It was rusty, it was it had stuff all over it.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
So who was going to fish the gun out of
that toilet?
Speaker 5 (14:20):
I got the honors of dropping a magnet down and
getting it. Because nobody wanted to go in there and
the magnet was able to pick it up and we
pulled it up and that was the most disgusting piece
of evidence I have ever recovered in my career. And
we put it in a box. I had to let
it air dry, and from there it went to the
(14:41):
crime lab. I thought there was no way this gun
is going to fire again. The lab did what they
do and they called us two weeks later and said
it's a match. That was just incredible.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Twelve days after being arrested in Alpaso, and just a
year after the Tripple homicide, authorities were finally able to
charge Geno Ferry with three counts of first degree murder,
we held.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
A news conference and they wanted, you know, all the
investigators up there behind me. They asked me, were you
afraid of Gino? And I said, yeah, we all were.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You Rarely hear cops get emotional, but talking about the
threat that you know was to the public and to
law enforcement struck a nerve for Sergeant Renault.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
We knew what he was capable of, and we knew
that you could get within one hundred yards of every
entrance at our Sheriff's department, and he had guns and
we believed he still had guns that were capable of
hitting their mark, and he was very familiar with all
types of weapons, and it was just something that was
(15:57):
within his mentality pull off.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
That afternoon, Sergeant Renaud proudly stood with his team of
investigators to announce Gino's arrest.
Speaker 7 (16:07):
Mister Fetti was the initial person of interest based on
the information that we initially got that he was a
defendant in civil litigation filed by Jial Delile against him,
and then when the Deliles did not show up for
the final court hearing on that the day their bodies
were discovered, that was the first place we went.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Prosecutor Amy Orlando also spoke at that press conference and
shared what Gino told Ricky Huckabee right after the murders.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
The defendant made the remark that what he did at
the Deliles home it felt good to him.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
In May twenty thirteen, two years after his arrest, Gino's
case finally went to trial. Just as it was about
to begin, more threats came from Gino.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
One of the good things that is a law enforcement
tools were able to listen in on phone calls that
happened at the gym. Well, he started to make threats
saying he was going to take somebody out during the trial.
He was going to do it in front of the jury.
It was going to be on camera.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
I will get my vengeance when I get out of here.
That's all that counts. Okay, they've kicked me in the
time to do some kicking myself. This is both between
these cops that's idiot and all these other guys that
are coming after me. These guys think they're gods with
a power. Well, I'm not a god, but I have
powers of a god, and I'm going to show them
what the powers are.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
And so we had to have the bomb dogs come.
We had snipers on the roof every day and lunch break,
any break, they combed the courthouse with the dogs. There
was extra security in the courtroom. In fact, we were
told by the judge if we wanted to that as
the attorneys, we all had the right to wear like
a bulletproof vest under our clothes.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
They locked me up to the should and they don't
expect me to have feelings. They don't expect me to
be angry for something I haven't done. Unto them all,
let us have a war. When I get out of here.
I don't believe in the government, the county, city, state,
federal anything, this government themselves.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Everyone was just on heightened alert.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Were Gino's threats real or was it just another way
to intimidate his latest foe.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I mean, he had killed three people, so no doubt
he's evil and he's dangerous. But you just can't let
that get to you, or you'd be preoccupied with it.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Even with the extra security. Came another threat.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
We uncovered a plot to kill Ricky Hukaby, a legitimate
plot with a known cartel.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Ricky Huckabee was the prosecution star witness and this plot
to assassinate him led Sergeant Renaud to personally escort him
in and out of the courthouse.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
And I haven't seen that done that much security for
a case.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
For his protection, Ricky was even moved down to the state,
But Gino's lawyer, Gary Mitchell, believed these threats were all
taken out of context.
Speaker 8 (19:00):
They tried to exploit everything they could about Gino's profile.
The way he talks and his A type personality profiles
him as somebody who, well, this is a gangster kind
of guy that will do whatever to get whatever, and
that profiles him it's wrong to profile him that way.
For Gino, it was sort of funny. I mean, he
(19:21):
just said, okay, why not. Surprise was a popular show.
He can act like he's from New Jersey, and he
can act like a tough guy.
Speaker 9 (19:31):
That's the way people saw him. He could fit in
and have fun with it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Tough guy. Gino fairy gritted his teeth as Ricky walked
to the witness stand wearing a bulletproof vest. The judge
even ordered photographers not to take pictures of Ricky's face
in order to protect him. On the witness stand, Ricky,
how could be, testified that Gino confessed to him. According
to Ricky, Gino used to key to get inside the
(19:56):
Delia's house and woar a mask and Rubbert gloves. When
Jill Delile first arrived, Gino shot him repeatedly. A short
time later, Peter wife unexpectedly showed up. Gino grabbed him
by the back of the head, and then forced him
into a bathroom shower, where he shot him. When Helga arrived,
(20:17):
Gino shot her once in the back of the neck.
Ricky testified that he kept quiet because Gino threatened him,
and that's why he originally didn't want to cooperate with investigators.
It was damning testimony against Gino, although his lawyer thought otherwise.
Here's Gary Mitchell again.
Speaker 8 (20:36):
I think this idea that Rick Hockaby says it Gino
confessed to him is a bunch of nonsense. I don't
think Geno confessed to him. It's not even his nature
to go confess to somebody like that. I think that's
just Rick Hocklebee, as I said to the jury, trying
to protect himself, point a finger at Gino and help
(20:56):
the state out, and realizing, well, the state now has
all the power. My friend, whom I really liked because
he took care of me and helped me out in
this sort of thing, no longer has the power in
the state has the power.
Speaker 9 (21:06):
So I'm going to go with the state.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Along with calling Ricky Huckaby a liar, Gino's attorney argued
that Gino wasn't the killer because he couldn't be in
two places at once.
Speaker 9 (21:16):
We had an alibi.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
Depending on the time you're talking about, he was either
eating a meal or he was lisiting with a friend
that he had of here.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
When clients face murder charges, most lawyers try to keep
them off the witness stand, But when you have an
ego as big as Gino's, there was no keeping him
from testifying. Gino emphatically denied confessing to Ricky Huckaby. He
testified that during that four thirty to six thirty PM
window when the murders happened, he was at a friend's
(21:46):
house and then grabbed a hot astronomy sandwich from a deli.
He even had a receipt timestamped six h nine PM
that backed up his story.
Speaker 8 (21:55):
Our sandwich receipts showed that it was impossible for him
to have.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Done this, but prosecutor said not so fast. The owner
of that deli where Gino was said to be at
six oh nine pm testified that the clocks on his
cash register were wrong. They were an hour behind because
they hadn't been adjusted for daylight savings time that would
put Gino at the deli at seven oh nine pm.
(22:22):
A deli employee even testified that Gino left the deli
around seven forty five pm.
Speaker 8 (22:27):
It was a neat argument as the state made, which
made our defense a lot weaker because they threw out
this suggestion to the Jerry that we didn't have a
correct time, that we were an hour earlier, an hour late.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
And remember how Gino said he was with a friend
at the time of the murders. Well, Gino's friend testified
that Gino called him on his way over sometime around
five pm, but Gino's phone records showed no such phone call.
That visit with his friend was something new to prosecutor
in you Orlando. She asked Gino why he failed to
mention his visit when he first talked with investigators. Gino
(23:04):
muttered that he simply forgot. The judge had to tell
the usually brash and boysters Geno to speak up because
he was speaking so quietly.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
He turned his back to me, to the point that
the judge had to call his defense counsel up to say,
that's not really effective. The jury isn't going to like that.
And his defense attorney was like, I can't control him.
The judge had to order him to turn around.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Gino later admitted to lying under oath during previous hearings
for divorce and bankruptcy. He proudly said, I'll lie to
protect what's not right.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I knew that I was getting under his skin, which
I mean just affirms that one that I'm right, meaning
that we had the right person, and that you have
no doubt, and the fact that he was trying to
control even that situation and I wasn't going to let
him control it.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
From day one, prosecutors focused on Gino Faery. This was
something that his defense attorney pointed out to the jury.
Speaker 8 (24:01):
There could have been any number of people, and I
wanted the jury to take a good hard look at
that and say, listen, I mean, just because the district
attorney selects this one person doesn't necessarily mean these others
should be off the hook. And we in fact argued
during the case that there were other people that were
around that could easily have done this.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Ju Julia was not only a businessman but also an inventor.
At the time of his death, he was negotiating the
sale of another invention, something said to extend gas mileage
by thirty percent. The proceeds of the sale would have
gone to charity, but just before the sale, two of
his partners involved in the invention mysteriously died. One was
(24:41):
poisoned and the other fell off a ladder while repairing
his roof.
Speaker 8 (24:45):
There were a lot of people that could have done this.
Other than Geno. Here's the bottom line. You screw with
people from a business sense to the point that you've
bankrupt him, to the point that you take everything away
from them, and you think, in this day and age, people,
I AM going to get upset over that kind of stuff.
You know, those chickens come home the roost after a while.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Gino's defense team wanted the jury to know that someone
else had a motive.
Speaker 8 (25:10):
At the end of the day, it was a tough,
hard nosed tried case in which the lawyers brought out
everything that they could and jurors are left with jumping
to one conclusion or the other.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
The worst part for a prosecutor is when the jury
leaves the courtroom to deliberate because there's absolutely nothing else
we can do.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Just before noon that day, the jury began deliberations and
lawyers prepared for a long night of waiting.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
It was nerve wracking because you never know what a
jury's going to believe.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
The trial of legendary nineteenth century outlaw Billy the Kid
happened just south of where Gino Ferry now awaited his fate.
He heard six days worth of testimony and saw nearly
two hundred and fifty pieces of evidence under a heavy
blanket of security. Thanks to a number of threats, I.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Was authorized to do whatever it took to secure that courthouse.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Sergeant Joe Renault not only investigated the case, but oversaw
courtroom security.
Speaker 5 (26:20):
We had undercover agents inside the courtroom, undercover agents outside
the courtroom, cameras rolling, We had snipers. We had Ricky
Huckaby in a bulletproof vest, and we didn't take any chances.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Ricky Huckabee was the prosecution's key witness, but there were
fears he wouldn't make it into the courthouse alive.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
We had verified information of a planned assassination attempt at
Ricky Huckabee.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Although there were no incidents during the trial, additional law
enforcement joined to the already packed courtroom once the jury
returned with a verdict, and although the lawyers were expecting
a long wait, the jury returned with their answer relative quickly.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Normally, when it's a long trial, they deliberate for a
long period of time.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
The fact that they deliberated for just two and a
half hours stuck out to Prosecutor Amy Orlando.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
So when they came back quickly, it's always an uneasy
feeling it's obviously they're a good sign or bad.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Defense attorney Gary Mitchell read a little deeper into the
jury short deliberation.
Speaker 9 (27:21):
It wasn't days later that it came in.
Speaker 8 (27:23):
It was hours, and I told Gina, you know, it's
not long enough to have an acquittal, so prepare yourself.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
On the three counts of first supree murder, the jury
found Geno Fairy guilty. From the back of the courthouse
came a scream. It was Gino's mother. An undercover agent
stood behind her just in case she started any trouble,
but nothing happened.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
It was a relief because it had taken us two
three years to get to trial and finally to be
able to give the victims some closure, even though they're deceased,
but to know who killed them, and then to give
the survivors around them and our community that Gino was
never going to be on the street again.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
The judge sentence Gino Ferry to three life sentences. He
was fifty years old at the time of the sentencing
and won't be eligible for parole for ninety years. Gino
didn't utter a word. He just stood there emotionless while
prosecutors embraced one another and celebrated their victory.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
We knew that we had the right person in jail
and charged with the crimes.
Speaker 5 (28:33):
There's TV shows out there that's say, if a murders
not solid in forty eight hours, most likely it will
never be solved. So when this verdict was read on Geno,
that's blown away.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
For Sergeant Renaud, the long, complicated and dangerous case was
finally over, and it featured many firsts.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
I would tell these guys in the investigative team, watch
your back, don't take the same route home every time,
don't eat at the same restaurants every day. Tell your
girlfriends to be careful. First time I've ever had to
do that in my career. With all the homicides I worked,
all the officer involved shootings I've worked, and never in
(29:18):
my wildest dreams what I have to tell cops to
be super extra careful and protect their families. Because Gina
was just a hot head. He was a hothead, and
if you said the wrong thing, it pressed a button
and the fuse was lit.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Gina's defense attorney believed the jurors had made up their
minds long before his closing arguments.
Speaker 8 (29:40):
They jumped pretty quick to that one conclusion because primarily
that gun business.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
And here's the big thing that you overset it, don't.
Speaker 8 (29:47):
Trial the number of homicides involved. I mean, excuse me,
this was this was not a single homicide. This looked
like somebody had gotten angry about something. So it all
sort of fit in to point the finger at Gino.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
He believes that Ricky Huckabee was responsible for the triple murders.
Speaker 8 (30:08):
Rick Huckabye walked away from this case. Interesting, isn't it
that he walks away? You know, I think a lot
more of the seven is pointing toward Rick huckaby than
my client. But I'm not the prosecuting attorney and I'm
not the investigating police departments.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Ricky Huckabee drove Gino to the Delio's house and even
called the house well, Gino was there, killing Jill Helga
and Peter. Ricky was never charged, but Sergeant Renault understands
why people believe he could have been connected to the murders.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Could he have been more knowledgeable than what he let on?
Speaker 9 (30:45):
Sure?
Speaker 5 (30:46):
You know, they could have hashed us out and said
I'm going to go over there and I'm going to
kill these people. And this is our plan, but we
never got any evidence to support that. I honestly truly
believe Ricky Huckabye is a decent person and did the
right thing and took great courage to do what he did.
(31:06):
Huge courage. Ricky Huckabee wherever he is now, and he's
still in danger. He is absolutely still in danger. I
don't know where he's at. I wish him well.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
New Mexico state law automatically triggers an appeal for anyone
sentenced to life in prison. In twenty fifteen, the New
Mexico Supreme Court upheld Gino's conviction. He will be eligible
for parole when he is one hundred and forty two
years old. With Gino now behind bars for life, the
(31:37):
city of Las Cruces slowly returned to being that safe, small,
tight knit city, sometimes too small for Sergeant Renault.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
And how small of a world it is that we
hear My daughter was playing soccer for a local high
school and an incoming freshman stood up and said, my
dad is in prison for killing people, and happened to
be Gino's daughter. And you know, that's how small a
(32:08):
town this is. Gino has a son and a daughter
and they've turned out to be great.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
People, but Gino Fairy would never be done. In twenty eighteen,
Gino filed a civil lawsuit against the New Mexico Department
of Corrections. He alleged that his constitutional rights were violated
following what's known as a facility shakedown. That's when prisoners
place their belongings in a bin and items that don't
(32:34):
fit in that bin are sent to the prisoners home.
In his one hundred and thirty three page complaint, he
voiced his anger that some clothing and four DOUAA batteries
were taken from him. He demanded the prison provide him
with a desk and called out one of the guards
for being a quote narcissist. In twenty twenty, I judge
(32:56):
dismissed his suit. Today, Gino remains in a medium security
prison in New Mexico.
Speaker 10 (33:02):
We got the son of a bitch. That's the only
thing that mattered to me.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
For Jill's friend and neighbor, Bob Senecal, he still holds
onto his anchor.
Speaker 10 (33:12):
I know they don't have the death penalty in the state,
but he's gone for the rest of his natural life,
and I'm he deserves it, and I for one hope
he rots in hell.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Back in twenty eleven, nearly a year after the triple murders,
Bob wrote a letter to the editor that was critical
of law enforcement's handling of the case.
Speaker 10 (33:34):
A week later, they arrested Geno. So I had it
write up make Kulpa saying I'm glad you guys did
your job, and I'm sorry I tried to rat you out.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
In the end, Bob believes it all boils down to
one thing.
Speaker 10 (33:49):
There are a lot of good people in this world,
and there are some bad people in this world, and
as long as the good people try to keep the
bad people under control, we're going.
Speaker 9 (33:59):
To be okay.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
During those months following the murders, an outlaw named Gino
Faery continued to walk the streets of Las Crusees. It
was something that scared Ricky Huckabee and even law enforcement,
but for Bob Senecal, he actually hoped he would run
into Gino.
Speaker 10 (34:17):
I kept my twelve gauge under my bed because I
was just praying he'd come and talk to me.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Next time. On American Homicide, a beaten and bruised woman
escapes her captor after a horrific ordeal As more details emerged,
what police uncover would be much bigger than they ever imagined.
I'm Sloan Glass. We'll make our final trip to New
Mexico and head to Elephant Butte. That's next time on
(34:46):
American Homicide. You can contact the American Homicide team by
emailing us at American Homicide Pod at gmail dot com.
That's American Homicide Pod at gmail dot com. American Homicide
is hosted and written by me Sloane Glass and is
a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group,
(35:11):
in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced
by Nancy Glass and Todd Gans. The series is also
written and produced by Todd Gans, with additional writing by
Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our associate producer is Kristin Mlcurry.
Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crimechack. Audio
(35:34):
editing and mixing by Matt Delvecchio, additional editing support from
Nico Ruka Tanner, Robbins, Britt Robashow, and Patrick Walsh. American
Homicide's theme song was composed by Oliver Baines of Neiser
Music Library, provided by my Music Follow American Homicide on
(35:57):
Apple Podcasts, and please rate and review American Homicide. Your
five star review goes a long way towards helping others
find this show. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The pressure was on Las Crusis police to solve what
was called the worst killing in twenty years.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We never had a case where three people have been killed,
all in one home and all at one time.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
For Prosecutor Amy Orlando, the unsolved case shattered this safe
and affluent community.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
People were concerned and they were fearful. That was something
very unusual for our community.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
But the suspect would turn the police's investigation inside out.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
These guys think they're their gods was power. Well, I'm
not a god, but I have powers of a god,
and I'm going to show them what the powers are.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Today, we're back in the remote hills of Las Cruces,
New Mexico, for the conclusion of Murder in the Desert.
I'm Sloan Glass and this is American Homicide. The views
and opinions expressed are solely those of the individuals participating.
This podcast also contained subject matter which may not be
(01:01):
suitable for all audiences. Discretion is advised.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
New Mexico is an odd state because if you go
up to northern New Mexico, you're going to just see
a lot more museums and a lot of art. And
then you get down south and We're still kind of
slow moving here.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Los cruzz is where Ami Orlando started her nineteen year
career as a prosecutor.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We don't honk it people a lot when they're going
the wrong way, you're going too slow. I like to
think we're a little bit more friendly. We have a
lot of ranchers and farmers here, and then we have
I think five or six Starbucks, and so I think
that tells you kind of size of what we.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Are actually lost. Cruisez is a city of one hundred thousand,
but those who live there say it feels like a
small town.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I like that it feels safe and that we lock
our doors, but you can still walk around at night.
You don't feel like you just have to rush to
your car when you're leaving the mall. We have our crime,
but we have great law enforcement, and it just feels
like it's still safe.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That safe feeling was shattered in twenty ten following the
triple murder of Jill and Helga Delile and Peter wife.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
This was the biggest homicide that we had had since
the eighties, and trust me, as the prosecutor leading kind
of the legal part of it and working with law enforcement,
we all foult that stress because we did not want
to be, you know, the group that went down to
not solve a triple homicide, which was our biggest case
(02:34):
of that nature in Las Cruses.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
As the months passed, it appeared from the outside that
the investigation had stalled, but the reality was very different.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
We narrowed in on kind of one suspect and his
name was Gino Ferry.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Gino Ferry was a contractor who did some business with
the victims, but the deal went south after Gino's tap
climbed above one million dollars. Jill sued him, but Gino
filed for bankruptcy. A lengthy court battle ensued the day
before the conclusion of that trial. Jill, his wife Helga,
and his business partner Peter whythe were murdered.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Gino claims he had an alibi and had nothing to
do with it, and so we knew we had to
prove it.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
By the spring of twenty eleven, nearly a year after
the murders, a witness named Ricky Huckabee began cooperating with investigators.
Ricky was a convicted felon who served ten years in
prison and later did some odd jobs with Gino including
driving Gino to the Delio's house on the day of
the murders.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
He tells us the events that happened up to the
killing of the victims.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
There was no question Ricky was afraid of Gino, so
the police offer to protect him. In return, Ricky would
record his conversations with Gino. But getting Gino to talk
freely about murdering three people wasn't easy.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
So Miss Tugby I think was getting a little frustrated
with Gino because he always talking circles. He knew what
to say without saying anything we tell him. You just
got to try and get him to talk about it.
But you can't put words in his mouth. But you
got to get him to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
One afternoon, Ricky found a way.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
There's one point in the investigation where he said to Gino, well,
would you really do it again? Would you do anything different?
And Gino said to him, yes, I would do it again.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
As open and shot of a confession as that seems,
it still wasn't enough for the DA. They were still
building their case. That became a familiar refrain to Detective
Robin Glickovic.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
We were frustrated. It was already almost a year, we're
still gathering evidence. We want to put this guy away.
We know for a fact that he killed these people,
but yet he's still walking the streets, our streets and
our community where our families live, and he's dangerous and
to the point where we as detectives have to take
(04:55):
different routes home because he knows where we live.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Investigators started looking over their shoulders because Gino seemed to
be watching them.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
He was a type of individual that thought he was
smarter on everybody and he could get away with anything
that he did, and we needed to keep an eye
on him to prevent other crimes from happening, and had
to prevent him from leaving town. Mexico's right there, and
he had the money to leave.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
At one point, Detective's place what's called a bird dog
or a GPS tracker on Gino's vehicle. That same day,
something unsettling happened.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
We went back to the Sheriff's department, did a briefing.
Then Gino Ferry was parked across the street and just
sitting there. It was almost like he was conducting his
own surveillance on us, and he had the mentality of
like he was like the Godfather.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
You know, I know this sounds more and more like
a movie plot, but it wasn't. These were real cops
in New Mexico trying to put this guy away, all
while looking over their shoulders and worrying about their loved
one safety. But if they arrested Geno now without a
formal charge, there would be nothing keeping him in police custody.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
And from that point we almost took a different path
on getting Geno.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Ferry authorities went after Gino the same way law enforcement
took down old school gangsters like al Capone.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Okay, if we can't get him on the homicide right now,
let's get him on a white collar crime.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Detectives knew that Gino had gone through bankruptcy proceedings and
in digging deeper, he had just gotten divorced. Police took
that information and connected it to a tip that Ricky
Huckabee provided. He said that Gino had a bunch of
storage units where he hit property and assets from the courts,
which is against the law.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
He had cars at one point, he had preschool stuff
like chairs and desks and stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
But more than just preschool furniture turned up.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
We found over one hundred guns in multiple large safes
that belonged to Geno.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
The detectives must have been thrilled. This was the breakthrough
they were looking for. But none of the guns matched
up with the bullets found at the crime scene. But
then something odd happened. When detectives opened the door to
another of the storage units. They were speechless.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
We found over five hundred animals like exotic animals like lions, tigers,
full size animals, bears, deer, elk, rhinos.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Just to be clear, these animals weren't alive. They were
stuffed and mounted. Not to mention some of them were
endangered species.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
He claimed he was going to use the animals for
a museum here in Las Crusis. In my career, I've
never seen anything like it.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
These hundreds of stuffed, life size animals that Gino had
hidden were valued at and get this, one point two
five million dollars, and hiding those assets from the courts
is a crime known as possession of encumbered property.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
We can get this guy, we can get him off
the streets. So using the white collar crime to get
him off the streets was the way we needed to go,
so we could actually take our time on the homicide
and get everything that we needed to make sure it
was a solid case so he would not get out.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
On April eighth, twenty twelve, police went to the DA
to state their case. They had Geno's tape confession to
Ricky Huckabee. They also had him on encumbered property. Plus
there was the growing fear that Gino was stalking them
and could retaliate.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
He's a scary guy, and we don't want that kind
of person in our community.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
This time, the district attorney had a change of heart.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
He gave me the green light. You have enough to
make an arrest on this guy.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Just a couple of days, shy of the one year
mark of the murders, detectives finally got a warrant for
Geno Faery's arrest.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
I was super excited, super nervous, super anxious, and then
I get a phone call saying we're tracking him. He's
a leaving town.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
The GPS tracker on Gino's vehicle showed Gino heading south
for the border.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
We thought that somehow he had found out that we
were about to charge him, and we think he's fleeing.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Sergeant Joe Renaut knew Gino had a second home in Mexico.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
And so we did not want him to hide down
there because he had the funds. We believed he had
money stashed and other items possibly that he could turn
over for money.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Aside from a lengthy extradition process, the authorities had other fears.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
You had tons of guns, long range rifles and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And the race to catch Geno Faery on.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
That day was very intense.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
I ten is the highway from Las cruzz that leads
to Mexico. That afternoon, it quickly filled with squad cars
heading south.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
We have other units, other detectives going. Everybody is just
anxious about getting this guy.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Authorities believe they could catch Gino just north of the
border in El Paso, which is about forty five miles away.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
We tracked them through GPS on a laptop.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
The birddog they placed on Gino's vehicle allowed them to
follow his every move.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
It's about a forty five minute drive depending on traffic,
and doing over one hundred miles an hour. It took
us about twenty minutes.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Finally, the string of cop cars caught up with Gino's
vehicle in El Paso. That's where they were joined by
El Paso police and the swat team.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
We get to Al Paso. We're in communication with El
Paso Police Department. He's here at this location. He's at
this intersection.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Investigators watched as Gino pulled into a parking lot in
a secluded area and we.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Call him and like move now, move now, and so
Apasto PDI. We all move in on him as he's
getting out of the vehicle and we're able to get
him right there at the vehicle.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Police arrested Geno Faerry without incident and charged him with
concealing and encumbered property.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
They take him to Al Paso Sheriff's department and we
go up there to see if he will give us
a statement, and of course he said he didn't want.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
To talk to us.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Even with Geno in custody, the police had work to do.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
It's not over. We still needed the murder weapon. And
once we put him in jail, Ricky Huckaby was just like, okay,
let's talk.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Did Ricky Huckaby, the man who told police he drove
Geno Ferry to the Delios home the day they were murdered,
no more than he was letting on And if he did,
what was he holding back detectives were to find out.
(12:07):
Police charged Geno Faerry with concealing and comfort property and
they believed he was also responsible for the murders of
Jill and Helga Delia and Peter Wife. For Sergeant Renault
and his team to charge Geno for those crimes, they
needed to find the murder weapon.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
The crime lab calls us, and they did, in fact
confirm that all three were killed with a nine milimeter handgun,
which was an oozy type weapon which leaves very distinctive marks.
We eventually discovered that Gino owned a weapon like this.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
That information came courtesy of their informant, Ricky Huckabee. With
Gino now behind bars, Ricky seemed more at ease and
revealed some additional information about what happened after the murders
when Gino went to a public bathroom at a park
to change his clothes.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Ricky remembered that when Gino had arrived back at the
park where they had planned to meet, Gino had gone
into the portable outdoor bathroom latrine and he walked in
with a buffel bag, and he walked out without the bag,
and as soon as he got back in the car,
(13:16):
he looked at Ricky and said, man, I think I
just woke up. And as time went on, and as
we started to work together, he started to realize, you know,
I think maybe the gun's in there.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
So if Gino did dispose of his murder weapon in
that park outhouse, the chances of finding a gun in
an outhouse toilet a year later we're slim to night.
But for Sergeant Renault, it was worth a look.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
And I said, shine a light down that dang toilet,
please and tell me what you see. He calls me back,
He says, I see a lot of crap. And I said, well,
what else do you see? He says, I see a gun.
It looks like an oozy. It's literally half a mile
from our department. I hauled by there and I looked
(14:01):
in the toilet. Sure enough, there it was just laying there,
straight down.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
On the bottom of the outhouse toilet sat the murder weapon.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
This gun's been sitting in this toilet for a year.
It was rusty, it was it had stuff all over it.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
So who was going to fish the gun out of
that toilet?
Speaker 5 (14:20):
I got the honors of dropping a magnet down and
getting it. Because nobody wanted to go in there and
the magnet was able to pick it up and we
pulled it up and that was the most disgusting piece
of evidence I have ever recovered in my career. And
we put it in a box. I had to let
it air dry, and from there it went to the
(14:41):
crime lab. I thought there was no way this gun
is going to fire again. The lab did what they
do and they called us two weeks later and said
it's a match. That was just incredible.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Twelve days after being arrested in Alpaso, and just a
year after the Tripple homicide, authorities were finally able to
charge Geno Ferry with three counts of first degree murder,
we held.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
A news conference and they wanted, you know, all the
investigators up there behind me. They asked me, were you
afraid of Gino? And I said, yeah, we all were.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
You Rarely hear cops get emotional, but talking about the
threat that you know was to the public and to
law enforcement struck a nerve for Sergeant Renault.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
We knew what he was capable of, and we knew
that you could get within one hundred yards of every
entrance at our Sheriff's department, and he had guns and
we believed he still had guns that were capable of
hitting their mark, and he was very familiar with all
types of weapons, and it was just something that was
(15:57):
within his mentality pull off.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
That afternoon, Sergeant Renaud proudly stood with his team of
investigators to announce Gino's arrest.
Speaker 7 (16:07):
Mister Fetti was the initial person of interest based on
the information that we initially got that he was a
defendant in civil litigation filed by Jial Delile against him,
and then when the Deliles did not show up for
the final court hearing on that the day their bodies
were discovered, that was the first place we went.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Prosecutor Amy Orlando also spoke at that press conference and
shared what Gino told Ricky Huckabee right after the murders.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
The defendant made the remark that what he did at
the Deliles home it felt good to him.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
In May twenty thirteen, two years after his arrest, Gino's
case finally went to trial. Just as it was about
to begin, more threats came from Gino.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
One of the good things that is a law enforcement
tools were able to listen in on phone calls that
happened at the gym. Well, he started to make threats
saying he was going to take somebody out during the trial.
He was going to do it in front of the jury.
It was going to be on camera.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
I will get my vengeance when I get out of here.
That's all that counts. Okay, they've kicked me in the
time to do some kicking myself. This is both between
these cops that's idiot and all these other guys that
are coming after me. These guys think they're gods with
a power. Well, I'm not a god, but I have
powers of a god, and I'm going to show them
what the powers are.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
And so we had to have the bomb dogs come.
We had snipers on the roof every day and lunch break,
any break, they combed the courthouse with the dogs. There
was extra security in the courtroom. In fact, we were
told by the judge if we wanted to that as
the attorneys, we all had the right to wear like
a bulletproof vest under our clothes.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
They locked me up to the should and they don't
expect me to have feelings. They don't expect me to
be angry for something I haven't done. Unto them all,
let us have a war. When I get out of here.
I don't believe in the government, the county, city, state,
federal anything, this government themselves.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Everyone was just on heightened alert.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Were Gino's threats real or was it just another way
to intimidate his latest foe.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I mean, he had killed three people, so no doubt
he's evil and he's dangerous. But you just can't let
that get to you, or you'd be preoccupied with it.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Even with the extra security. Came another threat.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
We uncovered a plot to kill Ricky Hukaby, a legitimate
plot with a known cartel.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Ricky Huckabee was the prosecution star witness and this plot
to assassinate him led Sergeant Renaud to personally escort him
in and out of the courthouse.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
And I haven't seen that done that much security for
a case.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
For his protection, Ricky was even moved down to the state,
But Gino's lawyer, Gary Mitchell, believed these threats were all
taken out of context.
Speaker 8 (19:00):
They tried to exploit everything they could about Gino's profile.
The way he talks and his A type personality profiles
him as somebody who, well, this is a gangster kind
of guy that will do whatever to get whatever, and
that profiles him it's wrong to profile him that way.
For Gino, it was sort of funny. I mean, he
(19:21):
just said, okay, why not. Surprise was a popular show.
He can act like he's from New Jersey, and he
can act like a tough guy.
Speaker 9 (19:31):
That's the way people saw him. He could fit in
and have fun with it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Tough guy. Gino fairy gritted his teeth as Ricky walked
to the witness stand wearing a bulletproof vest. The judge
even ordered photographers not to take pictures of Ricky's face
in order to protect him. On the witness stand, Ricky,
how could be, testified that Gino confessed to him. According
to Ricky, Gino used to key to get inside the
(19:56):
Delia's house and woar a mask and Rubbert gloves. When
Jill Delile first arrived, Gino shot him repeatedly. A short
time later, Peter wife unexpectedly showed up. Gino grabbed him
by the back of the head, and then forced him
into a bathroom shower, where he shot him. When Helga arrived,
(20:17):
Gino shot her once in the back of the neck.
Ricky testified that he kept quiet because Gino threatened him,
and that's why he originally didn't want to cooperate with investigators.
It was damning testimony against Gino, although his lawyer thought otherwise.
Here's Gary Mitchell again.
Speaker 8 (20:36):
I think this idea that Rick Hockaby says it Gino
confessed to him is a bunch of nonsense. I don't
think Geno confessed to him. It's not even his nature
to go confess to somebody like that. I think that's
just Rick Hocklebee, as I said to the jury, trying
to protect himself, point a finger at Gino and help
(20:56):
the state out, and realizing, well, the state now has
all the power. My friend, whom I really liked because
he took care of me and helped me out in
this sort of thing, no longer has the power in
the state has the power.
Speaker 9 (21:06):
So I'm going to go with the state.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Along with calling Ricky Huckaby a liar, Gino's attorney argued
that Gino wasn't the killer because he couldn't be in
two places at once.
Speaker 9 (21:16):
We had an alibi.
Speaker 8 (21:18):
Depending on the time you're talking about, he was either
eating a meal or he was lisiting with a friend
that he had of here.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
When clients face murder charges, most lawyers try to keep
them off the witness stand, But when you have an
ego as big as Gino's, there was no keeping him
from testifying. Gino emphatically denied confessing to Ricky Huckaby. He
testified that during that four thirty to six thirty PM
window when the murders happened, he was at a friend's
(21:46):
house and then grabbed a hot astronomy sandwich from a deli.
He even had a receipt timestamped six h nine PM
that backed up his story.
Speaker 8 (21:55):
Our sandwich receipts showed that it was impossible for him
to have.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Done this, but prosecutor said not so fast. The owner
of that deli where Gino was said to be at
six oh nine pm testified that the clocks on his
cash register were wrong. They were an hour behind because
they hadn't been adjusted for daylight savings time that would
put Gino at the deli at seven oh nine pm.
(22:22):
A deli employee even testified that Gino left the deli
around seven forty five pm.
Speaker 8 (22:27):
It was a neat argument as the state made, which
made our defense a lot weaker because they threw out
this suggestion to the Jerry that we didn't have a
correct time, that we were an hour earlier, an hour late.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
And remember how Gino said he was with a friend
at the time of the murders. Well, Gino's friend testified
that Gino called him on his way over sometime around
five pm, but Gino's phone records showed no such phone call.
That visit with his friend was something new to prosecutor
in you Orlando. She asked Gino why he failed to
mention his visit when he first talked with investigators. Gino
(23:04):
muttered that he simply forgot. The judge had to tell
the usually brash and boysters Geno to speak up because
he was speaking so quietly.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
He turned his back to me, to the point that
the judge had to call his defense counsel up to say,
that's not really effective. The jury isn't going to like that.
And his defense attorney was like, I can't control him.
The judge had to order him to turn around.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Gino later admitted to lying under oath during previous hearings
for divorce and bankruptcy. He proudly said, I'll lie to
protect what's not right.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
I knew that I was getting under his skin, which
I mean just affirms that one that I'm right, meaning
that we had the right person, and that you have
no doubt, and the fact that he was trying to
control even that situation and I wasn't going to let
him control it.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
From day one, prosecutors focused on Gino Faery. This was
something that his defense attorney pointed out to the jury.
Speaker 8 (24:01):
There could have been any number of people, and I
wanted the jury to take a good hard look at
that and say, listen, I mean, just because the district
attorney selects this one person doesn't necessarily mean these others
should be off the hook. And we in fact argued
during the case that there were other people that were
around that could easily have done this.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Ju Julia was not only a businessman but also an inventor.
At the time of his death, he was negotiating the
sale of another invention, something said to extend gas mileage
by thirty percent. The proceeds of the sale would have
gone to charity, but just before the sale, two of
his partners involved in the invention mysteriously died. One was
(24:41):
poisoned and the other fell off a ladder while repairing
his roof.
Speaker 8 (24:45):
There were a lot of people that could have done this.
Other than Geno. Here's the bottom line. You screw with
people from a business sense to the point that you've
bankrupt him, to the point that you take everything away
from them, and you think, in this day and age, people,
I AM going to get upset over that kind of stuff.
You know, those chickens come home the roost after a while.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Gino's defense team wanted the jury to know that someone
else had a motive.
Speaker 8 (25:10):
At the end of the day, it was a tough,
hard nosed tried case in which the lawyers brought out
everything that they could and jurors are left with jumping
to one conclusion or the other.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
The worst part for a prosecutor is when the jury
leaves the courtroom to deliberate because there's absolutely nothing else
we can do.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Just before noon that day, the jury began deliberations and
lawyers prepared for a long night of waiting.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
It was nerve wracking because you never know what a
jury's going to believe.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
The trial of legendary nineteenth century outlaw Billy the Kid
happened just south of where Gino Ferry now awaited his fate.
He heard six days worth of testimony and saw nearly
two hundred and fifty pieces of evidence under a heavy
blanket of security. Thanks to a number of threats, I.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Was authorized to do whatever it took to secure that courthouse.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Sergeant Joe Renault not only investigated the case, but oversaw
courtroom security.
Speaker 5 (26:20):
We had undercover agents inside the courtroom, undercover agents outside
the courtroom, cameras rolling, We had snipers. We had Ricky
Huckaby in a bulletproof vest, and we didn't take any chances.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Ricky Huckabee was the prosecution's key witness, but there were
fears he wouldn't make it into the courthouse alive.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
We had verified information of a planned assassination attempt at
Ricky Huckabee.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Although there were no incidents during the trial, additional law
enforcement joined to the already packed courtroom once the jury
returned with a verdict, and although the lawyers were expecting
a long wait, the jury returned with their answer relative quickly.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Normally, when it's a long trial, they deliberate for a
long period of time.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
The fact that they deliberated for just two and a
half hours stuck out to Prosecutor Amy Orlando.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
So when they came back quickly, it's always an uneasy
feeling it's obviously they're a good sign or bad.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Defense attorney Gary Mitchell read a little deeper into the
jury short deliberation.
Speaker 9 (27:21):
It wasn't days later that it came in.
Speaker 8 (27:23):
It was hours, and I told Gina, you know, it's
not long enough to have an acquittal, so prepare yourself.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
On the three counts of first supree murder, the jury
found Geno Fairy guilty. From the back of the courthouse
came a scream. It was Gino's mother. An undercover agent
stood behind her just in case she started any trouble,
but nothing happened.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
It was a relief because it had taken us two
three years to get to trial and finally to be
able to give the victims some closure, even though they're deceased,
but to know who killed them, and then to give
the survivors around them and our community that Gino was
never going to be on the street again.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
The judge sentence Gino Ferry to three life sentences. He
was fifty years old at the time of the sentencing
and won't be eligible for parole for ninety years. Gino
didn't utter a word. He just stood there emotionless while
prosecutors embraced one another and celebrated their victory.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
We knew that we had the right person in jail
and charged with the crimes.
Speaker 5 (28:33):
There's TV shows out there that's say, if a murders
not solid in forty eight hours, most likely it will
never be solved. So when this verdict was read on Geno,
that's blown away.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
For Sergeant Renaud, the long, complicated and dangerous case was
finally over, and it featured many firsts.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
I would tell these guys in the investigative team, watch
your back, don't take the same route home every time,
don't eat at the same restaurants every day. Tell your
girlfriends to be careful. First time I've ever had to
do that in my career. With all the homicides I worked,
all the officer involved shootings I've worked, and never in
(29:18):
my wildest dreams what I have to tell cops to
be super extra careful and protect their families. Because Gina
was just a hot head. He was a hothead, and
if you said the wrong thing, it pressed a button
and the fuse was lit.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Gina's defense attorney believed the jurors had made up their
minds long before his closing arguments.
Speaker 8 (29:40):
They jumped pretty quick to that one conclusion because primarily
that gun business.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
And here's the big thing that you overset it, don't.
Speaker 8 (29:47):
Trial the number of homicides involved. I mean, excuse me,
this was this was not a single homicide. This looked
like somebody had gotten angry about something. So it all
sort of fit in to point the finger at Gino.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
He believes that Ricky Huckabee was responsible for the triple murders.
Speaker 8 (30:08):
Rick Huckabye walked away from this case. Interesting, isn't it
that he walks away? You know, I think a lot
more of the seven is pointing toward Rick huckaby than
my client. But I'm not the prosecuting attorney and I'm
not the investigating police departments.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Ricky Huckabee drove Gino to the Delio's house and even
called the house well, Gino was there, killing Jill Helga
and Peter. Ricky was never charged, but Sergeant Renault understands
why people believe he could have been connected to the murders.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Could he have been more knowledgeable than what he let on?
Speaker 9 (30:45):
Sure?
Speaker 5 (30:46):
You know, they could have hashed us out and said
I'm going to go over there and I'm going to
kill these people. And this is our plan, but we
never got any evidence to support that. I honestly truly
believe Ricky Huckabye is a decent person and did the
right thing and took great courage to do what he did.
(31:06):
Huge courage. Ricky Huckabee wherever he is now, and he's
still in danger. He is absolutely still in danger. I
don't know where he's at. I wish him well.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
New Mexico state law automatically triggers an appeal for anyone
sentenced to life in prison. In twenty fifteen, the New
Mexico Supreme Court upheld Gino's conviction. He will be eligible
for parole when he is one hundred and forty two
years old. With Gino now behind bars for life, the
(31:37):
city of Las Cruces slowly returned to being that safe, small,
tight knit city, sometimes too small for Sergeant Renault.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
And how small of a world it is that we
hear My daughter was playing soccer for a local high
school and an incoming freshman stood up and said, my
dad is in prison for killing people, and happened to
be Gino's daughter. And you know, that's how small a
(32:08):
town this is. Gino has a son and a daughter
and they've turned out to be great.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
People, but Gino Fairy would never be done. In twenty eighteen,
Gino filed a civil lawsuit against the New Mexico Department
of Corrections. He alleged that his constitutional rights were violated
following what's known as a facility shakedown. That's when prisoners
place their belongings in a bin and items that don't
(32:34):
fit in that bin are sent to the prisoners home.
In his one hundred and thirty three page complaint, he
voiced his anger that some clothing and four DOUAA batteries
were taken from him. He demanded the prison provide him
with a desk and called out one of the guards
for being a quote narcissist. In twenty twenty, I judge
(32:56):
dismissed his suit. Today, Gino remains in a medium security
prison in New Mexico.
Speaker 10 (33:02):
We got the son of a bitch. That's the only
thing that mattered to me.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
For Jill's friend and neighbor, Bob Senecal, he still holds
onto his anchor.
Speaker 10 (33:12):
I know they don't have the death penalty in the state,
but he's gone for the rest of his natural life,
and I'm he deserves it, and I for one hope
he rots in hell.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Back in twenty eleven, nearly a year after the triple murders,
Bob wrote a letter to the editor that was critical
of law enforcement's handling of the case.
Speaker 10 (33:34):
A week later, they arrested Geno. So I had it
write up make Kulpa saying I'm glad you guys did
your job, and I'm sorry I tried to rat you out.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
In the end, Bob believes it all boils down to
one thing.
Speaker 10 (33:49):
There are a lot of good people in this world,
and there are some bad people in this world, and
as long as the good people try to keep the
bad people under control, we're going.
Speaker 9 (33:59):
To be okay.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
During those months following the murders, an outlaw named Gino
Faery continued to walk the streets of Las Crusees. It
was something that scared Ricky Huckabee and even law enforcement,
but for Bob Senecal, he actually hoped he would run
into Gino.
Speaker 10 (34:17):
I kept my twelve gauge under my bed because I
was just praying he'd come and talk to me.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Next time. On American Homicide, a beaten and bruised woman
escapes her captor after a horrific ordeal As more details emerged,
what police uncover would be much bigger than they ever imagined.
I'm Sloan Glass. We'll make our final trip to New
Mexico and head to Elephant Butte. That's next time on
(34:46):
American Homicide. You can contact the American Homicide team by
emailing us at American Homicide Pod at gmail dot com.
That's American Homicide Pod at gmail dot com. American Homicide
is hosted and written by me Sloane Glass and is
a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group,
(35:11):
in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced
by Nancy Glass and Todd Gans. The series is also
written and produced by Todd Gans, with additional writing by
Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our associate producer is Kristin Mlcurry.
Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crimechack. Audio
(35:34):
editing and mixing by Matt Delvecchio, additional editing support from
Nico Ruka Tanner, Robbins, Britt Robashow, and Patrick Walsh. American
Homicide's theme song was composed by Oliver Baines of Neiser
Music Library, provided by my Music Follow American Homicide on
(35:57):
Apple Podcasts, and please rate and review American Homicide. Your
five star review goes a long way towards helping others
find this show. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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