August 15, 2024 • 30 mins
Step back in time to the summer of 1990, where a tragic love story unfolds under the shadow of domestic turmoil. In this gripping episode of In Time Crime, we delve into the chilling case of Elias Hannah Sirianni, a Palestinian immigrant whose American dream turned into a nightmare. From a humble beginning in Jerusalem to the fateful night in Charlotte, North Carolina, this narrative explores the complexities of love, cultural clashes, and the ultimate betrayal.
Join host Robin Bagayoko as we navigate through the harrowing events leading up to the murder of Teresa Yusuf Syriani, Elias's wife, and the subsequent trial that led to his execution. Through meticulous storytelling, witness the unraveling of a marriage strained by cultural differences, control, and escalating violence. As we piece together the evidence, hear from witnesses and family members who paint a vivid picture of a relationship doomed from the start.
This episode is not just a recount of a crime; it is a powerful reminder of the devastating effects of domestic violence. With heartfelt commentary, Robin emphasizes the importance of recognizing red flags and seeking help before it's too late. Tune in to understand the full scope of this tragic tale and reflect on the lessons it imparts.
Don't miss out on this compelling narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Subscribe, review, and join us for more riveting episodes of In Time Crime.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
He would be convicted for the murder of his wife, Teresa Yusuf Sirianni,
in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He would later be executed by the state.
Join us in today's episode of In Time Crime, where we go back in time to July
the 28th of 1990 to discuss the case of Elias Anna Sirianni.
(00:26):
Thank you for watching.
Music.
(00:48):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Anytime Crime with me,
your host, Robin Bagayoko.
Like I said in the beginning, today's episode is going to be based on Elias
Hannah Sirianni for the murder of his wife, Teresa.
But before we get into that, let's discuss a couple of things and make a couple of announcements.
(01:14):
Of course, like I said before, thank you guys so much for joining me once again.
Today will be Thursday, the 15th of August, 2024.
And I will be releasing three episodes today.
So this is to make up for episodes that I've missed, and I truly apologize.
(01:35):
Like I said, after the death of my grandmother, it's been downhill from there.
So I've been trying to ensure that I, you know, release episodes normally,
normally and that's what I'm going to try to make sure that I do.
But there is so much going on in life right now and I, life is lifing.
(02:01):
But once again, thank you guys so much for coming back. I really appreciate it.
Also, I am going to reboot my podcast,
Laugh While You Scream, sometime within
this month it is basically a
horror movie comedy commentary so
(02:22):
if that's something that you're probably interested in I will have the I guess
the link or something somehow you know or you can look it up I'll let you know
in the description how you can get to it But it's called Laugh While You Scream,
and it will be back up and running sometime this month.
(02:45):
And my co-host will be my sister, Raquel Russell.
Okay, so tune in to that if that's something that you're interested in, like I said before.
Once again, thank you guys so much. Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate you guys. Okay.
So today's case is, it's not very long. It's not a long one.
(03:07):
It's pretty short, but we'll be able to cover it, go over it and discuss it a little bit.
Like I said, the, what do you call it?
I don't know why I'm having a brain fart right now. Now, all of the social media
platforms are in the description for this audio.
(03:29):
So do follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, all the audio,
all everything like the audio platforms to listen to this podcast.
It's all in the description and it's all located in my link tree that is in
the description for this audio.
So if you're having any issues finding anything, it's all in the link tree, including the Patreon.
(03:53):
If you would like to join, I've already discussed before the benefits of joining
the Patreon, but I will gladly go over it once again.
Again, of course, you will be helping somebody out by joining one of those tiers.
And also, if you send me anything that you want me to read that has to do with
(04:19):
crime, I will gladly read it on my Patreon.
And once you have chose a tier to join, you can hear it there.
Okay, so it's free to join, of course, but certain things have limitations.
So once again, I'm on Patreon, I'm on most social media platforms,
(04:42):
and we are also on most audio podcasts.
Why can't I talk? Podcast platforms. So do join us wherever.
Spotify, if you don't listen to Apple. Boomplay.
I'm all over the place. So you'll find me, okay? You will find me.
(05:05):
So, okay, let's get into today's episode about Elias Sirianni.
So, Elias was born on January the 7th of 1938, and he was a Palestinian immigrant to the United States.
Okay, so Sirianni was born in Jerusalem, which at the time was a part of the
(05:31):
British mandate of Palestine.
And he was born into a family of Palestinian Syriac Christians.
When he was around 12 years old, his father was arrested by the newly established
state of Israel, leading to his father's mental breakdown down and subsequent instability.
(05:58):
He was also later diagnosed with cancer.
So, after this happened, Sirianni was the eldest of his siblings and he decided
to leave school and start working.
So the family after that left from where they were and went to Hammond, Jordan,
(06:23):
where Sirianni, well, let's say Elias, where Elias, because we like to do first
names around here, right?
Keep it on a first name basis. So, Elias served in the armed forces for nine
years once he moved to Jordan, and after completing his military services,
(06:48):
he took a job as a machinist with a company in Jordan, and he also worked at
a radio station where he was performing Arabic songs.
Later on in the mid-1970s, he was feeling like, okay, I'm good.
(07:08):
I'm financially stable. I have enough money now.
I can get married. So, therefore, he decided he's going to get married,
and that's when he met Teresa through a mutual acquaintance.
So, she had moved to the United States and they spoke through letters and photos
(07:32):
for about three months before he returned to Jordan just two or three weeks prior to their wedding.
So after getting married now, everything is all good.
He decided, or they decided, let's go to the United States together.
So they both moved back to the United States and settled in Chicago, Illinois.
(07:59):
While being there, Teresa adhered to traditional Middle Eastern customs in her
attire and lifestyle. style.
So, you know how the women dress in the Middle East.
They have their jobs or, you know, they're very modest.
They're completely covered from head to toe, you know.
(08:21):
So, she continued to dress that way while she was here in the United States.
But this was only until 1986 when they They moved to Charlotte,
North Carolina, and she started working at a gas station.
And then she got accustomed to dressing more in a American style of dressing,
(08:46):
a more American fashion where you know how we dress.
We just like to throw on a T-shirt or pair of jeans, some joggers, hoodie, whatever.
We just throw on some clothes, knees out, feet, you know, knees out,
ankles out, hair out, everything out.
So she decided to dress more Americanized and began to get friends.
(09:09):
Like she began to have friendships with American people.
And Elias was, he was not really okay with that.
He did not approve of these changes. And therefore, what happens when there's
conflict and disagreements within a marriage?
(09:30):
That's right. they started to have arguments, okay?
So with all these conflicts and disagreements and arguments, in 1990,
Teresa decided to initiate divorce proceedings against Elias and obtained a
(09:50):
protective order from a North Carolina court,
which mandated that he vacate their home and maintain a distance from her and their four children.
So, you know, he's gonna be highly upset based on these.
Yeah, okay. So, late in the night of July the 28th of 1990,
(10:16):
around 11 20 p.m., Elias drove to Teresa's house and discovered that she was not there.
So he decided to wait in her driveway.
Once she returned from work, he then obstructed her path with his van.
(10:39):
He blocked the driveway and then came out of his vehicle and approached her car.
Then through the open window, because I guess her window she has her window
I don't know who drives with their window down because I always drive with my
window up you never know you never know so the window was down.
(11:05):
And once he approached the car and the window was down he then stabbed Teresa 28 times times,
28 times with a screwdriver while their 10-year-old son,
John, was in the passenger seat.
So, of course, kids don't like to see their parents fussing and fighting.
(11:30):
So, with his little 10-year-old energy, he tried to break it up.
You know, he tried to, he tried to, what's the word I'm looking for?
Intervene. He tried to intervene and tried to separate them and break it up.
But of course he was powerless in stopping his father.
(11:52):
Okay. So after trying his hardest best to separate his parents and stop his father,
he left out the car because he's like, Like, I can't do it, you know,
so he kind of gave up trying to stop him and just decided, let me go get some help.
So then he went and got some help from his sister Rose and then he went to a friend's house.
(12:19):
And then once he came back, he saw he went and got his friend, I guess.
So once he and his friend came back, they saw that Elias was still in the vehicle
and still stabbing his mom, Teresa.
So once he was done with his stabbings, attacking his wife, he went back into his van and drove away.
(12:47):
And they checked on her and somehow
through all of that, all of those 28 stabbings, she was still alive.
So then he went, this is Elias, he went to a fire station to seek medical care
for his cuts and scrapes. So, because I guess she was fighting for her life.
(13:07):
So she was, you know, tooth and nails with it.
So later on in court, of course, a firefighter would say that he saw that Elias
came to the fire station to get help.
And he claimed that Teresa was the one that attacked him.
(13:29):
Shortly after that of course seeing as though we have witnesses who are his son and his son's friend,
they went and took Elias into
custody okay now remember that we said Teresa
did survive she was still alive
but unfortunately after 28
(13:50):
days she would ultimately pass
away because she had a three inch deep brain injury and one of the neighbors
that saw her in the vehicle said it looked like she got shot in the face with
a buckshot so even though we have the son that saw him attacking,
(14:11):
his mother Teresa and we have the friend that saw him attacking Teresa and the
neighbor saw saw that Teresa was in the car looking like she was in a murder scene,
Elias still tried to state in court a very contrasting account of the situation,
(14:35):
saying that Teresa had intentionally.
Scratched him in the face as he approached her car and hit him in his leg with the car door.
So he tried to say when he went there that afternoon to talk to her,
he had no intentions of harming or killing her at all.
(14:57):
He went to just have a civil conversation and
she was the one who jumped out
the car and started scratching him
and hitting him and hitting him with the car door and
all this this nonsense and also he
said that he only hit her like three
or four times with a screwdriver and that
(15:21):
was it even though there's like 28 stab wounds on her body he only i guess she
put the rest on on herself because okay sir okay they also could not find the
screwdriver so that they could, you know, see,
you know, like investigate the screwdriver and compare it to the stab wounds and whatnot.
(15:46):
He discarded of it. So prior to Teresa passing away, Elias did face the charges
of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill.
Now, after her death, these charges were then upgraded to capital murder.
(16:08):
So on June 12th of 1991, he received the death sentence from the McClendonburg County Superior Court,
with the jury determining that the crime was particularly her heinous,
(16:28):
I do apologize for my pronunciation here,
atrocious, I don't know why I'm having issues,
and cruel,
which they considered as an aggravating factor that surpassed the eight mitigating
(16:49):
circumstances they identified.
Now, of course, he's gonna, you know, continue to talk ill of his wife and say
that he was, of course, the victim all the time.
So, Elias, while he was in court, stated that his wife repeatedly struck him
(17:10):
daily in front of their children and that she had called law enforcement on him multiple times.
Then he said that during all of this abuse that he was suffering,
he only hit her about three or four times during the initial five years of their marriage.
But of course, like I said, there's John, there's Rose, the kids as witnesses,
(17:35):
because they obviously did this kind of abuse to one another in front of their children.
So their children contradicted his account, asserting that domestic violence
occurred on both sides throughout the marriage.
So he was abusive and unfortunately for her, she was also abusive.
(17:59):
They were abusive to each other. So during the penalty phase of the trial,
their middle daughter, Sarah,
recounted an incident in which Elias chased Teresa with a scissor during an argument.
Additionally, Teresa allegedly alleged that Elias slapped her in the car and
(18:24):
once yanked her down the stairs by her hair.
John the son also said that there was a time when his father threatened Teresa,
his mom, with a baseball bat.
So in court, Sirianni, or Elias, we're going by Elias, Elias filed a petition
(18:51):
for right of habeas corpus.
Contented that his trial attorney did not provide adequate representation,
which therefore, he says, compromised his right to a fair trial.
He also said that he was terrified of losing his kids at the time of the offenses
(19:13):
and presented a diagnosis of PTSD from mental health professionals.
He also provided evidence of his good conduct while he was in prison.
His children have forgiven him and requested that his sentence be reduced.
(19:35):
An appeal of the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected in October of 2005, and therefore,
his execution date was set for November the 18th of 2005.
So he was sentenced to death. He tried to do all this to say,
(19:57):
you know, I was doing good.
I was, you know I did good while I was in prison and the kids want me back and
la-di-da-di-da but either way they're like we don't care you're still you're
still on death row so on November the 17th of 2005.
(20:20):
The then governor of North Carolina Mike Easley rejected a request for clemency
for Elias, just one day to his scheduled execution.
So he was holding on to hope all the way up until the day before and they said,
no, sorry, you're done tomorrow. Too bad, so sad.
(20:45):
So Elias' execution by lethal injection took place at the Central Prison in
November the 18th of 2005.
Although none of his children were there at the event, they visited him the
day before, leaving around 11 p.m.
So, two of Elias's friends, who were detectives involved in the case,
(21:12):
along with members of the media, were there to witness his execution.
At 2 a.m., Elias was brought into the execution chamber on a gurney and connected to an ID line.
He was declared dead at 2.12 a.m. after being administered the lethal drug by three executioners.
(21:41):
Whose I, you know, let me rephrase that. After being administered the lethal
drug by three executioners whose identities were not disclosed.
Okay, so he fought tooth and nail for his life.
He tried to say I was a good man while after I murdered my wife,
(22:05):
even though I went to jail.
I did good while I was in there. La-di-da-di-da.
And up until the last minute, like I said, he was set to death and died by lethal injection.
So his last words were basically, you know, once you're set to be executioned,
(22:29):
you do get to say some last words.
So his last words were, first and foremost, I want to thank God for everything
that was transcribed, that has transpired in my life.
I also want to express an appreciation to my children and my family,
particularly my sister Odette.
I'm grateful to all the wonderful friends who have shared in my struggles for
(22:54):
the past 15 years and four months, offering their unwavering support, especially Mr.
And Mrs. Meg Eggleston, who have become like family to me.
Their assistance has been invaluable in helping me come to terms with everything.
In extent, my thanks to everyone, including the staff, nurse,
(23:19):
and chaplains. I appreciate you all.
So at the age of 67, he became one of the oldest individuals executed in the
United States since 1976,
marking the 997th execution following the Gregg v.
(23:43):
Georgia ruling. okay so domestic
violence let's talk about it for a moment domestic
violence is no joke
if you ever see yourself being in
a relationship where either you or your partner is abusive please just walk
(24:06):
away okay before somebody gets hurt just walk away if you're the one being abused
walk away if you're the abuser,
get some help, get some counseling, talk to somebody.
There's something going on
mentally most of the times, or maybe this is not who you should be with.
A lot of times people will stick around with somebody that is not meant for
(24:29):
them and go through trials and tribulations with this person just to end up
unhappy in the end anyway.
Some people are just it's not meant for you. See the signs. It's called red flags nowadays.
Look for the red flags, okay? People will show you their red flags,
especially in someone, somehow in the beginning of most relationships,
(24:52):
people show you their red flags.
Walk away from relationships that are not worth your time or your patience because
it's not going to go anywhere good facts.
If it looks bad in the the beginning, it's going to be bad in the end, okay?
If somebody's showing you.
OK, let me put it like this. Sometimes certain relationships you can stay in
(25:15):
because, you know, people go through things sometimes.
I'm not talking about an abusive situation. If somebody is struggling in the
beginning of their life, but you see, you see,
and it depends on what you assume to be struggle and what you assume to be for
(25:35):
yourself to be progression.
Progression, if you see somebody struggling in the beginning and they are progressing,
yes, stay with that person because they're showing you that they are willing
to do better with themselves.
They are willing to make a change for the better of their life,
which in turns may be the better for your life.
(25:56):
By all means, stay with that person if that's how you feel. That's what you want to deal with.
Some people aren't meant to go through struggles with one another.
You understand what I'm saying? So pick your battle.
Pick your battle and make sure whichever battle you are picking is a battle
that you can fight and you will not end up damaged in the end. Okay?
(26:19):
Don't deal with something just because you're sad and lonely.
There's always somebody better for you. Never settle for anything.
That's why it's called settling. You don't have to to settle, okay?
You don't have to settle unless you're in a situation worth settling for, okay?
There's always something better out there for you all the time, all the time.
(26:45):
There's plenty of fish in the sea. You never have to settle for the bullshit.
You never have to settle for the bullshit.
Don't let anybody talk you into less than what you deserve, okay?
Never let somebody talk you into less than what you deserve. You deserve better.
And if you see that you're in a situation when you're being abused,
(27:06):
you're being let down, you're being...
For less than your value because everybody has a certain value.
And if you feel that you're being taken for less than your value,
get out of that situation.
There's always better for you. You don't have to settle for the bullshit.
At the end of the day, I've been through it.
I've been there and I walk away from the mess.
(27:29):
I'm not settling for the bullshit. Okay.
So with that said, there are numbers to reach out to if you need to speak to
someone about domestic violence,
if I can if I don't even post it
immediately after posting this audio for a council that you can reach out to
(27:54):
I will eventually in the future find that number and update it on this audio
so that if you feel you need to reach out to somebody to talk to them about
domestic violence the number will be there.
There's always help. There's always help.
No matter what, there's always hope and there's always help.
(28:14):
But your biggest bet in life when you're going through something that you know
you shouldn't be going through is to walk away.
Even if you're going to walk away with nothing, you'll walk away with your health,
you'll walk away with your life, and you'll walk away with hope that there's
better for you out there, okay?
(28:36):
So with that said, thank you guys so much again for listening.
I really, really appreciate it so, so, so, so much.
This was a valuable lesson. This whole case of Elias Sirianni should be a valuable lesson.
I don't know why I can't say the word properly, but a
(28:58):
valuable lesson for people out there
that are in relationships where they are struggling because as
you can see Teresa lost her life to this man this was
a man that she married and left her home country and her family for back in
her home country and came to the United States with just him and her kids and
(29:20):
died died because of what she chose to deal with okay so I mean she did walk away.
Let me apologize. She did walk away. She did get a divorce.
So she, she did walk away, but because she had kids with this man,
you know, she had to somehow still be in communication with him.
(29:42):
So be careful of who you're having kids with too.
That's, that's probably another part of it. Be careful of who you're,
you're out here having kids with. Okay. So.
Appreciate you guys so much for listening once again. Thank you so much for listening.
I really appreciate it. We're posting this audio and a crime mini today on this lovely Thursday,
(30:08):
and I'll post another full episode on Friday, Saturday, and then we should be
all caught up to our regular Sunday episodes.
OK, just bear with me.
Podcasting can be a lot when you have a lot going on. Okay.
So I appreciate you guys so much. Once again, don't forget to follow me on all
my social media platform, our social media platforms,
(30:31):
and also click the follow button on whatever platform that you're listening
to this audio on to subscribe.
Okay. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, review, review, review five stars always.
Thank you so much once again, and have a wonderful, wonderful day.
Stick around for Prime Mini in just a moment and we'll see you next time.
He would be convicted for the murder of his wife, Teresa Yusuf Sirianni,
in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He would later be executed by the state.
Join us in today's episode of In Time Crime, where we go back in time to July
the 28th of 1990 to discuss the case of Elias Anna Sirianni.
(00:26):
Thank you for watching.
Music.
(00:48):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Anytime Crime with me,
your host, Robin Bagayoko.
Like I said in the beginning, today's episode is going to be based on Elias
Hannah Sirianni for the murder of his wife, Teresa.
But before we get into that, let's discuss a couple of things and make a couple of announcements.
(01:14):
Of course, like I said before, thank you guys so much for joining me once again.
Today will be Thursday, the 15th of August, 2024.
And I will be releasing three episodes today.
So this is to make up for episodes that I've missed, and I truly apologize.
(01:35):
Like I said, after the death of my grandmother, it's been downhill from there.
So I've been trying to ensure that I, you know, release episodes normally,
normally and that's what I'm going to try to make sure that I do.
But there is so much going on in life right now and I, life is lifing.
(02:01):
But once again, thank you guys so much for coming back. I really appreciate it.
Also, I am going to reboot my podcast,
Laugh While You Scream, sometime within
this month it is basically a
horror movie comedy commentary so
(02:22):
if that's something that you're probably interested in I will have the I guess
the link or something somehow you know or you can look it up I'll let you know
in the description how you can get to it But it's called Laugh While You Scream,
and it will be back up and running sometime this month.
(02:45):
And my co-host will be my sister, Raquel Russell.
Okay, so tune in to that if that's something that you're interested in, like I said before.
Once again, thank you guys so much. Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate you guys. Okay.
So today's case is, it's not very long. It's not a long one.
(03:07):
It's pretty short, but we'll be able to cover it, go over it and discuss it a little bit.
Like I said, the, what do you call it?
I don't know why I'm having a brain fart right now. Now, all of the social media
platforms are in the description for this audio.
(03:29):
So do follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, all the audio,
all everything like the audio platforms to listen to this podcast.
It's all in the description and it's all located in my link tree that is in
the description for this audio.
So if you're having any issues finding anything, it's all in the link tree, including the Patreon.
(03:53):
If you would like to join, I've already discussed before the benefits of joining
the Patreon, but I will gladly go over it once again.
Again, of course, you will be helping somebody out by joining one of those tiers.
And also, if you send me anything that you want me to read that has to do with
(04:19):
crime, I will gladly read it on my Patreon.
And once you have chose a tier to join, you can hear it there.
Okay, so it's free to join, of course, but certain things have limitations.
So once again, I'm on Patreon, I'm on most social media platforms,
(04:42):
and we are also on most audio podcasts.
Why can't I talk? Podcast platforms. So do join us wherever.
Spotify, if you don't listen to Apple. Boomplay.
I'm all over the place. So you'll find me, okay? You will find me.
(05:05):
So, okay, let's get into today's episode about Elias Sirianni.
So, Elias was born on January the 7th of 1938, and he was a Palestinian immigrant to the United States.
Okay, so Sirianni was born in Jerusalem, which at the time was a part of the
(05:31):
British mandate of Palestine.
And he was born into a family of Palestinian Syriac Christians.
When he was around 12 years old, his father was arrested by the newly established
state of Israel, leading to his father's mental breakdown down and subsequent instability.
(05:58):
He was also later diagnosed with cancer.
So, after this happened, Sirianni was the eldest of his siblings and he decided
to leave school and start working.
So the family after that left from where they were and went to Hammond, Jordan,
(06:23):
where Sirianni, well, let's say Elias, where Elias, because we like to do first
names around here, right?
Keep it on a first name basis. So, Elias served in the armed forces for nine
years once he moved to Jordan, and after completing his military services,
(06:48):
he took a job as a machinist with a company in Jordan, and he also worked at
a radio station where he was performing Arabic songs.
Later on in the mid-1970s, he was feeling like, okay, I'm good.
(07:08):
I'm financially stable. I have enough money now.
I can get married. So, therefore, he decided he's going to get married,
and that's when he met Teresa through a mutual acquaintance.
So, she had moved to the United States and they spoke through letters and photos
(07:32):
for about three months before he returned to Jordan just two or three weeks prior to their wedding.
So after getting married now, everything is all good.
He decided, or they decided, let's go to the United States together.
So they both moved back to the United States and settled in Chicago, Illinois.
(07:59):
While being there, Teresa adhered to traditional Middle Eastern customs in her
attire and lifestyle. style.
So, you know how the women dress in the Middle East.
They have their jobs or, you know, they're very modest.
They're completely covered from head to toe, you know.
(08:21):
So, she continued to dress that way while she was here in the United States.
But this was only until 1986 when they They moved to Charlotte,
North Carolina, and she started working at a gas station.
And then she got accustomed to dressing more in a American style of dressing,
(08:46):
a more American fashion where you know how we dress.
We just like to throw on a T-shirt or pair of jeans, some joggers, hoodie, whatever.
We just throw on some clothes, knees out, feet, you know, knees out,
ankles out, hair out, everything out.
So she decided to dress more Americanized and began to get friends.
(09:09):
Like she began to have friendships with American people.
And Elias was, he was not really okay with that.
He did not approve of these changes. And therefore, what happens when there's
conflict and disagreements within a marriage?
(09:30):
That's right. they started to have arguments, okay?
So with all these conflicts and disagreements and arguments, in 1990,
Teresa decided to initiate divorce proceedings against Elias and obtained a
(09:50):
protective order from a North Carolina court,
which mandated that he vacate their home and maintain a distance from her and their four children.
So, you know, he's gonna be highly upset based on these.
Yeah, okay. So, late in the night of July the 28th of 1990,
(10:16):
around 11 20 p.m., Elias drove to Teresa's house and discovered that she was not there.
So he decided to wait in her driveway.
Once she returned from work, he then obstructed her path with his van.
(10:39):
He blocked the driveway and then came out of his vehicle and approached her car.
Then through the open window, because I guess her window she has her window
I don't know who drives with their window down because I always drive with my
window up you never know you never know so the window was down.
(11:05):
And once he approached the car and the window was down he then stabbed Teresa 28 times times,
28 times with a screwdriver while their 10-year-old son,
John, was in the passenger seat.
So, of course, kids don't like to see their parents fussing and fighting.
(11:30):
So, with his little 10-year-old energy, he tried to break it up.
You know, he tried to, he tried to, what's the word I'm looking for?
Intervene. He tried to intervene and tried to separate them and break it up.
But of course he was powerless in stopping his father.
(11:52):
Okay. So after trying his hardest best to separate his parents and stop his father,
he left out the car because he's like, Like, I can't do it, you know,
so he kind of gave up trying to stop him and just decided, let me go get some help.
So then he went and got some help from his sister Rose and then he went to a friend's house.
(12:19):
And then once he came back, he saw he went and got his friend, I guess.
So once he and his friend came back, they saw that Elias was still in the vehicle
and still stabbing his mom, Teresa.
So once he was done with his stabbings, attacking his wife, he went back into his van and drove away.
(12:47):
And they checked on her and somehow
through all of that, all of those 28 stabbings, she was still alive.
So then he went, this is Elias, he went to a fire station to seek medical care
for his cuts and scrapes. So, because I guess she was fighting for her life.
(13:07):
So she was, you know, tooth and nails with it.
So later on in court, of course, a firefighter would say that he saw that Elias
came to the fire station to get help.
And he claimed that Teresa was the one that attacked him.
(13:29):
Shortly after that of course seeing as though we have witnesses who are his son and his son's friend,
they went and took Elias into
custody okay now remember that we said Teresa
did survive she was still alive
but unfortunately after 28
(13:50):
days she would ultimately pass
away because she had a three inch deep brain injury and one of the neighbors
that saw her in the vehicle said it looked like she got shot in the face with
a buckshot so even though we have the son that saw him attacking,
(14:11):
his mother Teresa and we have the friend that saw him attacking Teresa and the
neighbor saw saw that Teresa was in the car looking like she was in a murder scene,
Elias still tried to state in court a very contrasting account of the situation,
(14:35):
saying that Teresa had intentionally.
Scratched him in the face as he approached her car and hit him in his leg with the car door.
So he tried to say when he went there that afternoon to talk to her,
he had no intentions of harming or killing her at all.
(14:57):
He went to just have a civil conversation and
she was the one who jumped out
the car and started scratching him
and hitting him and hitting him with the car door and
all this this nonsense and also he
said that he only hit her like three
or four times with a screwdriver and that
(15:21):
was it even though there's like 28 stab wounds on her body he only i guess she
put the rest on on herself because okay sir okay they also could not find the
screwdriver so that they could, you know, see,
you know, like investigate the screwdriver and compare it to the stab wounds and whatnot.
(15:46):
He discarded of it. So prior to Teresa passing away, Elias did face the charges
of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill.
Now, after her death, these charges were then upgraded to capital murder.
(16:08):
So on June 12th of 1991, he received the death sentence from the McClendonburg County Superior Court,
with the jury determining that the crime was particularly her heinous,
(16:28):
I do apologize for my pronunciation here,
atrocious, I don't know why I'm having issues,
and cruel,
which they considered as an aggravating factor that surpassed the eight mitigating
(16:49):
circumstances they identified.
Now, of course, he's gonna, you know, continue to talk ill of his wife and say
that he was, of course, the victim all the time.
So, Elias, while he was in court, stated that his wife repeatedly struck him
(17:10):
daily in front of their children and that she had called law enforcement on him multiple times.
Then he said that during all of this abuse that he was suffering,
he only hit her about three or four times during the initial five years of their marriage.
But of course, like I said, there's John, there's Rose, the kids as witnesses,
(17:35):
because they obviously did this kind of abuse to one another in front of their children.
So their children contradicted his account, asserting that domestic violence
occurred on both sides throughout the marriage.
So he was abusive and unfortunately for her, she was also abusive.
(17:59):
They were abusive to each other. So during the penalty phase of the trial,
their middle daughter, Sarah,
recounted an incident in which Elias chased Teresa with a scissor during an argument.
Additionally, Teresa allegedly alleged that Elias slapped her in the car and
(18:24):
once yanked her down the stairs by her hair.
John the son also said that there was a time when his father threatened Teresa,
his mom, with a baseball bat.
So in court, Sirianni, or Elias, we're going by Elias, Elias filed a petition
(18:51):
for right of habeas corpus.
Contented that his trial attorney did not provide adequate representation,
which therefore, he says, compromised his right to a fair trial.
He also said that he was terrified of losing his kids at the time of the offenses
(19:13):
and presented a diagnosis of PTSD from mental health professionals.
He also provided evidence of his good conduct while he was in prison.
His children have forgiven him and requested that his sentence be reduced.
(19:35):
An appeal of the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected in October of 2005, and therefore,
his execution date was set for November the 18th of 2005.
So he was sentenced to death. He tried to do all this to say,
(19:57):
you know, I was doing good.
I was, you know I did good while I was in prison and the kids want me back and
la-di-da-di-da but either way they're like we don't care you're still you're
still on death row so on November the 17th of 2005.
(20:20):
The then governor of North Carolina Mike Easley rejected a request for clemency
for Elias, just one day to his scheduled execution.
So he was holding on to hope all the way up until the day before and they said,
no, sorry, you're done tomorrow. Too bad, so sad.
(20:45):
So Elias' execution by lethal injection took place at the Central Prison in
November the 18th of 2005.
Although none of his children were there at the event, they visited him the
day before, leaving around 11 p.m.
So, two of Elias's friends, who were detectives involved in the case,
(21:12):
along with members of the media, were there to witness his execution.
At 2 a.m., Elias was brought into the execution chamber on a gurney and connected to an ID line.
He was declared dead at 2.12 a.m. after being administered the lethal drug by three executioners.
(21:41):
Whose I, you know, let me rephrase that. After being administered the lethal
drug by three executioners whose identities were not disclosed.
Okay, so he fought tooth and nail for his life.
He tried to say I was a good man while after I murdered my wife,
(22:05):
even though I went to jail.
I did good while I was in there. La-di-da-di-da.
And up until the last minute, like I said, he was set to death and died by lethal injection.
So his last words were basically, you know, once you're set to be executioned,
(22:29):
you do get to say some last words.
So his last words were, first and foremost, I want to thank God for everything
that was transcribed, that has transpired in my life.
I also want to express an appreciation to my children and my family,
particularly my sister Odette.
I'm grateful to all the wonderful friends who have shared in my struggles for
(22:54):
the past 15 years and four months, offering their unwavering support, especially Mr.
And Mrs. Meg Eggleston, who have become like family to me.
Their assistance has been invaluable in helping me come to terms with everything.
In extent, my thanks to everyone, including the staff, nurse,
(23:19):
and chaplains. I appreciate you all.
So at the age of 67, he became one of the oldest individuals executed in the
United States since 1976,
marking the 997th execution following the Gregg v.
(23:43):
Georgia ruling. okay so domestic
violence let's talk about it for a moment domestic
violence is no joke
if you ever see yourself being in
a relationship where either you or your partner is abusive please just walk
(24:06):
away okay before somebody gets hurt just walk away if you're the one being abused
walk away if you're the abuser,
get some help, get some counseling, talk to somebody.
There's something going on
mentally most of the times, or maybe this is not who you should be with.
A lot of times people will stick around with somebody that is not meant for
(24:29):
them and go through trials and tribulations with this person just to end up
unhappy in the end anyway.
Some people are just it's not meant for you. See the signs. It's called red flags nowadays.
Look for the red flags, okay? People will show you their red flags,
especially in someone, somehow in the beginning of most relationships,
(24:52):
people show you their red flags.
Walk away from relationships that are not worth your time or your patience because
it's not going to go anywhere good facts.
If it looks bad in the the beginning, it's going to be bad in the end, okay?
If somebody's showing you.
OK, let me put it like this. Sometimes certain relationships you can stay in
(25:15):
because, you know, people go through things sometimes.
I'm not talking about an abusive situation. If somebody is struggling in the
beginning of their life, but you see, you see,
and it depends on what you assume to be struggle and what you assume to be for
(25:35):
yourself to be progression.
Progression, if you see somebody struggling in the beginning and they are progressing,
yes, stay with that person because they're showing you that they are willing
to do better with themselves.
They are willing to make a change for the better of their life,
which in turns may be the better for your life.
(25:56):
By all means, stay with that person if that's how you feel. That's what you want to deal with.
Some people aren't meant to go through struggles with one another.
You understand what I'm saying? So pick your battle.
Pick your battle and make sure whichever battle you are picking is a battle
that you can fight and you will not end up damaged in the end. Okay?
(26:19):
Don't deal with something just because you're sad and lonely.
There's always somebody better for you. Never settle for anything.
That's why it's called settling. You don't have to to settle, okay?
You don't have to settle unless you're in a situation worth settling for, okay?
There's always something better out there for you all the time, all the time.
(26:45):
There's plenty of fish in the sea. You never have to settle for the bullshit.
You never have to settle for the bullshit.
Don't let anybody talk you into less than what you deserve, okay?
Never let somebody talk you into less than what you deserve. You deserve better.
And if you see that you're in a situation when you're being abused,
(27:06):
you're being let down, you're being...
For less than your value because everybody has a certain value.
And if you feel that you're being taken for less than your value,
get out of that situation.
There's always better for you. You don't have to settle for the bullshit.
At the end of the day, I've been through it.
I've been there and I walk away from the mess.
(27:29):
I'm not settling for the bullshit. Okay.
So with that said, there are numbers to reach out to if you need to speak to
someone about domestic violence,
if I can if I don't even post it
immediately after posting this audio for a council that you can reach out to
(27:54):
I will eventually in the future find that number and update it on this audio
so that if you feel you need to reach out to somebody to talk to them about
domestic violence the number will be there.
There's always help. There's always help.
No matter what, there's always hope and there's always help.
(28:14):
But your biggest bet in life when you're going through something that you know
you shouldn't be going through is to walk away.
Even if you're going to walk away with nothing, you'll walk away with your health,
you'll walk away with your life, and you'll walk away with hope that there's
better for you out there, okay?
(28:36):
So with that said, thank you guys so much again for listening.
I really, really appreciate it so, so, so, so much.
This was a valuable lesson. This whole case of Elias Sirianni should be a valuable lesson.
I don't know why I can't say the word properly, but a
(28:58):
valuable lesson for people out there
that are in relationships where they are struggling because as
you can see Teresa lost her life to this man this was
a man that she married and left her home country and her family for back in
her home country and came to the United States with just him and her kids and
(29:20):
died died because of what she chose to deal with okay so I mean she did walk away.
Let me apologize. She did walk away. She did get a divorce.
So she, she did walk away, but because she had kids with this man,
you know, she had to somehow still be in communication with him.
(29:42):
So be careful of who you're having kids with too.
That's, that's probably another part of it. Be careful of who you're,
you're out here having kids with. Okay. So.
Appreciate you guys so much for listening once again. Thank you so much for listening.
I really appreciate it. We're posting this audio and a crime mini today on this lovely Thursday,
(30:08):
and I'll post another full episode on Friday, Saturday, and then we should be
all caught up to our regular Sunday episodes.
OK, just bear with me.
Podcasting can be a lot when you have a lot going on. Okay.
So I appreciate you guys so much. Once again, don't forget to follow me on all
my social media platform, our social media platforms,
(30:31):
and also click the follow button on whatever platform that you're listening
to this audio on to subscribe.
Okay. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe, review, review, review five stars always.
Thank you so much once again, and have a wonderful, wonderful day.
Stick around for Prime Mini in just a moment and we'll see you next time.
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