Catherine Pileggi

So how is that an accident?

Out to the accident, you guys saw down the stairs these days. They said holy cow, you know, we got a weird issue here. The body was inside of us. Sleeping bag, there was a fitted sheet. I opened up the bag a little bit further.

Both of us left the harness behind. A bizarre and complex crime scene raises more questions than answers.

“For me as an investigator, what are you doing here, you know, with the attorney?”

This was a lot more than just an accident. He would drink a bit too much, and that I think caused some rift between the two of them. But with multiple witnesses and conflicting stories, investigators must determine what's true and what's a cover-up.

She said to me, "Hey, why not bear in your ocean?"

She sees what 85 pounds, 85 something, somebody had to help her. To be with her, and no one else knew what the story was. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a place most people associate with relaxation. Fort Lauderdale, let's see if they can find it. That's a high spot for taking cruisers to go to the Bahamas in April or else.

We have seven miles of ocean, ocean beach that you can go to. On June 28, 2011, police are called to the scene of a fatal accident on one of the areas more affluent streets. I don't know what is your emergency.

“We did detectivate, poke and drive for Lauderdale police.”

Okay, what's going on there, sir? You have an accident, but a person fell down stairs.

Okay, do they need permission?

Not anymore. So how is that an accident? I have an accident because we got caught down stairs these days. It wasn't frantic when he called mine one. I don't want to say he acted as it was another day at the office,

but something just doesn't seem right. When the police arrived, they discovered the body of Ronald Finsey. President at the scene, where Katherine Pellegy, is to vent you significant other. An attorney named Sam Fields and a close friend of Ronald Finsey,

named Spencer Gordon. The attorney identified himself to die in representing Miss Pellegy. What are you doing here?

“You know, with the attorney with Spencer, you know, why you hear?”

That was kind of suspicious. Spencer Gordon tells police he's the one who called 911. When he leads the officers to Ron's body, they realize the situation does not match the story they were told. The story at that point was that he had apparently fallen down the stairs,

which was confounding to the police. The body we're thinking is at the bottom of the stairs, but once you go in the entrance, you go to the right, walking to the bedroom, and there's a big bed. That's where the body was at.

The body was inside of this sleeping bag. There was a fitted sheet, I believe, there was a towel. There were multiple elements to all of the coverings, directly around the deceden. His body looked like big clump of dirty laundry,

sitting off the right side of your bed. Once they saw that, they said, "Oh, we got an issue here." We wondered how he could get from the bottom of the stairs into the bedroom. Since it appears, the body has already been moved.

Officers clear the scene to preserve any potential evidence. They immediately shut it down and called us out there. Captain Collegi was being detained in a patrol car as a person of inches or a possible suspect. And the crime scene was sealed.

So no one goes in until at least the emigos in there and then the scene is processed. It was such a complex scene, meaning the scene directly around the deceden, and not knowing what would be in there.

I thought it would be better just to wrap everything up. Not disturb anything and just put the entire unit in a body bag and have it transported. The assumption is that at this point because of the context of the scene that this is a homicide,

then we decide our plan of attack here, what are we going to do?

and because we just never know what is going to be important.

“While investigators are securing evidence,”

detectives learn more about who is at the scene. Before you start looking for the bookie man, or they have entered in flight. You look to see who, in immediate area, who could have been involved and find out what they know.

Ms. Polegi was taking downtown, and then our witnesses are the same thing. Just to get them away from scene, we can talk to them and try to get their version of what happened. What is the story behind all this?

Ronald Vinci was born in Ohio on August 16th, 1940, but he lived most of his life in California. A salesman at heart, Ron was drawn to a career in auto sales, and he spent decades becoming one of the most successful dealers in the state.

Ron was a self-made man.

“I would characterize him as being very street smart.”

Back in the day, nobody really knew how successful Honda Motors would be, but he made a real success out of it. You couldn't hide how much money to buy had. He had yachts, he had motorcycle collection.

This was not somebody who was scraping by. Ron married in his early 20s and had a son. But after many years together, the relationship ended in divorce and Ron's focus turned back to his work

and some rather expensive hobbies. I met Ron Vinci in a small town called Lake Havasu, Arizona, and we found we had similar interests. We liked boats, we liked airplanes, we liked water. Those types of things, Ron was a very fun guy.

You wanted to be around him from any standpoint, from a social event to going down to the Bahamas. He had a just a zest for life that was unparalleled. In 1993 at the age of 53, Ron decided it was time to cash out

and enjoy the fruits of his labor. When Mr. Vinci retired and sold his interest in the Honda dealerships that he had, he had a lot of money, which he spent on toys and property and travel.

On one of his luxury trips, Ron got a second chance at love when he met a 37-year-old woman from Georgia, named Catherine Pellegi. Catherine grew up in rural Augusta.

He had a pretty large family.

“I think she was probably the oldest of five or six children.”

She was extremely close with both her parents and with most of her siblings. She was a real lady, humble lady. A very kind, a considered person. She was a flight attendant when they met.

People normally date within an age range, and he got somebody who was fairly significantly younger than him. I met Catherine about the same time that I met Ron.

They were always an item.

They had been together for many years, and she was just a really nice person. Catherine was a very good looking, gorgeous woman. I think that she was somewhat of a trophy girlfriend. You know, my girlfriend's an airline student, and she's a hottie.

Despite their age difference, Catherine and Ron found they shared many things in common, including a taste for the high life. Earlier in their relationship, they shared a joy and a passion for flying.

Catherine was a pilot. She was actually a better pilot than Ron was. And used to do most of the flying wherever they would go. And there were many trips that they would take all of the country and throughout the Caribbean.

The couple spent the next 20 years jet setting before putting down roots in Southern Florida. He purchased a two-story home in one of Fort Lauderdale's richest, richest neighborhoods that he shared with Catherine.

Although they never married,

Catherine and Ron seemed to have the kind of relationship most only dream of. The two of them attended functions all the time,

But two weeks after moving into the new mansion,

their high flying lifestyle has come to a tragic end. After securing the crime scene, detectives bring the three potential witnesses in for questioning. We need to identify almost immediately.

“Okay, who are my key players here that I need to talk to”

and then separate from the scene? Investigators start with interviewing Catherine, who requests to have her lawyer present. And if you understand your rights as high and redundancy, and you are willing or not, won't make a statement on references.

It is not wrong. After getting nowhere with Catherine, in a separate room, her lawyer provides some startling information. Put it this way.

This was a lot more than just an accident.

Coming up, a witness reveals a sinister discovery. They eventually he got hurt to say, okay, he was shot. And an autopsy reveals the details of a brutal murder. There were budgeting marks from a hammer in his skull. It was overkill, so we know it's personal.

For Lauderdale Police, our questioning everyone who was at Ron Vinci's mansion, the night he was reported to be deceased. Ron's girlfriend Catherine isn't willing to make a statement, but in a separate room, her attorney reveals some disturbing details.

He said, you'll find blunt force trauma. You'll find stab wounds. You'll find gutshot wounds on the body. Well, only a person that would have been there, or committed it, would have known the injuries.

“It's not what I think, and if it was at a confession,”

there's so many questions and so many things that were going on

that we didn't have answers to. Catherine's attorney refuses to elaborate, so detectives turn their attention to the man who called 911. Spencer Gordon. You've worked for Ron.

One of the largest fronts. And flies helicopter. My flies airplane occasionally. Spencer had told us that night before in a 27th, Spencer Gordon, Ms. Pileji, and Mr. Vinci. They were all there, had dinner, Chinese food,

and had some wine, and socialize. According to Spencer, they left about 730 that evening. As far as he's concerned, Mr. Vinci was alive and well. It's fascinating. He's what the sleeper passed out when it's rich.

“Spencer tells detectives that Ron was something of a party animal,”

so he didn't think much of him passing out in a living room. But the next morning, he was surprised to get an emergency call from someone who works for Ron. Renado Silva, who was a handyman, but he did a lot of gardening work among his other duties.

He called Spencer Gordon, who he knew to be a close friend of Ron and Vinci. I called him back at 1042, and asked him what the problem was. And at that time, he said, "I can't find Ron. Ron has." But it was detectable, which Ron asked. Which I took to me. Ron passed out.

Right. Said, "Alright, come down. Let's go over there." And we'll see what's happened. Not the car that went over there. When Spencer arrived at the house to check on Ron,

he quickly realized the situation was much worse than he imagined. So we're happy. She was in the fire. And all the other time, he was trying to get me to go into the back bedroom.

She seemed to be swimming on. I was talking with Kathy. She seemed... There's no one who was there. Right. Renado is still nervous, saying,

"This is bad, this is bad, bonds are the bad." Renado pointed out where his adventure's body was in the bedroom. And Spencer went in. I answered the thing. I opened up the bag.

A little bit further. I put some stuff apart. I saw him. I saw that. I knew it was a mission. Before he made an I1 one-call, he confronted Katherine Pledgey about it.

And her initial version was he fell down as stairs. Listen.

She said about one o'clock or one-third of the one-up.

Listen. What did she do? She just... there... didn't say anything. Kathy got to tell me what happened here. Spencer said eventually, he got hurt to stay okay.

He was shot.

“Did she tell you there's a bullet on it? That's what she said.”

They were in an argument. He did argue, "You may end up with something and that she shot him." Sorry. We want to.

I don't want to go to jail.

You see, I understand that, but we want to. This is my phone. Call 911. Let's see what happens here. No, I don't want to. If you're not calling, I...

She said, "No, no, don't do that." I walked out to the front and called 911. And at some point, you felt she needed that attorney to be called an attorney for her. What I did is I called my friend.

Yeah, this is the African calling 911.

“I asked you to have the attorney there, that's for what attorney said yes.”

But when investigators review the specifics of the 911 call, it doesn't match what Spencer just told them. Are there any weapons in thought? No, I'd go now. For us, that was weird.

Why not to simply say, I need help, I need an ambulance, a guy's been shot. He just says somebody fell into the disease. That takes thought. And you're starting to say, "Okay, this, this guy's not being truthful."

Detectives confront Spencer about the discrepancy.

There's a lot more detail here now than what you gave in your first statement

that I don't know if I just, I don't tell you I was in shock. After getting nowhere with the witnesses, police are forced to release everyone. They wanted to interview Miss Pledgey, but she exercised a fifth minute right to remain silent. We were told that, "Okay, let's go ahead and release her for the moment." And it's best that Gordon, because we don't have a confession.

We don't really know what happened and whether she's the person that did it. But today, one o'clock in the morning, she called me. I had a hearing in my phone. She called in wrong phone, she called you using wrong phone.

“Then she said to me, "Brain, you have to rent a truck tomorrow.”

Because I rent a truck before." "I don't have a job at the truck. We can't be in the wrong." I said, "Okay, one for five minutes and then I go back to the bed." "Then they, something like that, quarter to eight, I call the house." "Rones phone."

She answered the phone and then she said, "Rate, come and street to the house." "And I go inside, then she come and drive and say to me, "Rones bags." "Rones what best best, right?" "Rones past, yeah." Say, "Why? She fell from this day."

"Then she going, she says to me, "Rone happy to be here when I'm very in your ocean." "She wants you to help her." "To take her and the boats." "Take her and the boats go and the water." I just say, "I want to see her."

"When I came here to see her, she was in the truck. She was in the hospital. She was in the hospital. She was in the hospital." I said, "I want to see her." Renaldo says he immediately suspected foul play. "I think she's responsible."

"Why?" "She went to the house." "She showed me." "Why?" "I was going to the house."

"I didn't go to the police because I was with her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her."

"I wanted to ask her."

"I didn't know what I was doing."

"I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her."

"I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her."

"I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I was afraid of her." "I don't think she expected him to call Spencer Gord." "He was very traumatized by it."

"You know, like you told me, again, he's very emotional about it." "When he talked about it." "And he couldn't believe that this had happened." "Was it the handyman?"

“"I don't think it was the handyman. I think he was too traumatized about what happened."”

Investigators wrap up their questioning with Renaldo and shift focus back to the crime scene to shed further light on what happened.

The first thing they find is a large bin and diveways.

"This would come in handy if you wanted to dispose of a body at sea and make sure no one found it." "You would imagine that this would be suspicious." "They also discover evidence of a hasty cleanup." "By the naked eye, there was no blood there." "You could clean some areas with Clarks."

"And completely clean it as clean as you think it could be." "The luminol will bring it out and you could see it." Detectives, low and old, a tile floor by the bottom of the staircase and found bloodstains. "The blood trail led to the forest floor bedroom." "And then into, you know, on the bed and where everything else was at."

“"So they tested it and determined that there was Mr. Vinci's blood."”

"But if it happened in that hallway at the bottom of the stairs, how did he get into the bedroom?"

"Maybe she just called him and dragged them." "If you look at Ms. Pelegi, she sees what 85 pounds, maybe five something." "So for this woman, a small stature, you know, to have done this something just doesn't seem right." "I want the whole story." On June 29, 2011, the day after Ron Vinci died,

the medical examiner conducts a full autopsy of his body. Detectives believe the results will confirm if Ron fell down the stairs or was shot by his long-term girlfriend, Catherine Pellege. "We still didn't know what we were going to find in the autopsy. The body bag is x-rayed with the deceit and all the wrappings in it.

Once we look at the x-rays, we have a feel for anything like bullets. The x-rayed gave a clue as to there was very likely a gunshot wound. And then immediately you can see the sharp force injuries on the neck and the blunt force injuries to the head. He also had a large bruise on his chest.

He had a gunshot wound to the left side of his head and it had fractured his skull and actually lacerated his brain.

“He had, I believe it was seven, in size wounds on his neck”

and five stab wounds to his trunk. Whoever killed Ronald Vinci wanted to make sure he was not getting up. It was overkill. In any time we go to a scene where we see that the injuries are stained or overkill, then we know it's personal.

As far as detectives are concerned, Catherine's refusal to cooperate with their investigation makes her the prime suspect. We suspected who may have done it, but we have to tie the suspect to the crime scene. We spent three or four days at the house.

In runs Bentley, they find a treasure's role of evidence. In the trunk were several plastic bags filled with items that turned out to be a evidence-sharing significance. Most of difficulty was a 380 handgun, a knife that appeared to have blood on it, and a hammer.

On the 380 handguns magazine were fingerprints

Is that the same firearm that Mr. Vinci, you know, was killed with?

We don't know. But according to Spencer Gordon, she's handled those firearms. So the fingerprints could have been in there from who knows whenever. We continued our investigation.

We determined that she had made purchases, you know, on her credit card. She had actually went out and purchased a bin at Home Depot. She had gone to Brownies, which is a dive shop. Her just some weights, dive weights, that allegedly she was going to use to take a victim's body out in the ocean and double.

The receipts show it was her.

The video surveillance showed it was her. There was no one else with her. The purchases are consistent with what the handyman renaldo told police, but what's also suspicious is when Catherine bought some of the items. The weights had been purchased the day before the body was discovered.

It was a red flag because if she was planning to do this ahead of time, this would be any a mock of premeditated murder. The questions facing investigators now are why would Catherine plan the murder of her long time boyfriend and did she have help trying to dispose of his body. When they ask friends of the couple, they discover the relationship

was more volatile than it appeared. Brown and I went to breakfast two or three times a week. He didn't share with me what the problem between the two of them was, but it was apparent to me that Brown would drink a bit too much.

“And that I think caused some riff between the two of them.”

They had reached the point clearly according to their friends. This relationship was not going to go very much further. Catherine and Ron even separated for a few months in 2000. One of the times that we went to breakfast, he just closed to me. The potential settlement agreement that Catherine had asked for.

And that was she wanted a new car. She wanted $100,000. And she wanted the penthouse that she was living in. Ron asked me my opinion if I thought that was the right thing to do. And I told him that it was.

I told him I think it was an easy out. But I guess that didn't happen. But friends say after their time apart, they wound up reconciling.

“So if Catherine was back in Ron's good graces, what was her motive for killing him?”

The day after Ron's murder, police learned of another suspicious death. Then talking with some of Ms. Pelegis' closest friends, we were told that she blamed Mr. Vinci for her sister's death. They were out in some swarrow somewhere in the Caribbean or something like that. Her sister became sick and allegedly Mr. Vinci gave her some of his medication.

But at some time thereafter, obviously the sister passed. She blamed him for her death. So only there was a lot of anger there. Could that be motive? Sometimes, a heat of passion can be so great that it might negate conscious intent to kill.

Coming up, Catherine finally opens up and reveals claims of self-defense.

She realized, oh, this time he really meant it. He really was going to kill it. But is she telling the truth? Those are no questions in my mind. She had developed better women's syndrome. Armed with evidence linking Catherine Pelegi to the death of her boyfriend, Ron Vinci,

Florida Police obtained a warrant for her arrest on July 5, 2011. At this point, based on witness testimony, based on the evidence collected at the scene in process, we submitted it to the council's attorney's officer.

“I think we have not promised or arrested.”

But now, Catherine has hired a new attorney, Bruce Yudoff. I got the call from Ford Lordanel Police, asked me to bring her down to self-surrender. She did so. Our crime scene folks photographed her finger printed her. We got DNA swamps from her.

Once again, Catherine refuses to give a statement to police. Months later, when Catherine is evaluated by a forensic psychologist,

her version of events finally comes to light.

She confessed that she had shot Mr. Vinci. But Catherine claims that had nothing to do with money or her sister's death. According to her, she was a long-term victim of domestic abuse. She was going to offer a defense that what she did was an overreaction due to batting spouse syndrome. And that's some way shape of form this was really self-defense on her blood.

She said, "Yeah, two personalities." He'd be nicest. "Is ever?" And then he could do a flip on you in a heartbeat and become the meanest person in the world. He would just drink become very poistres. He would bump into people or he would be of noxious.

“Then I think he was being somewhat too obnoxious to Catherine from time to time.”

I actually told him if he didn't quit being a noxious,

I was going to throw his ass overboard over the side of the boat. In addition to that, he was taking lots of different medications. Chad variety of effects on him, including hallucinations, losses of consciousness. Catherine claims she suffered in silence for more than a decade. But on the night of June 27th, 2011, she decided she'd have had enough.

She said he had an argument at the top of the stairs. She was trying to keep a condominium that she liked to live in. I'm lost all this boulevard from being sold. And he blamed her for that deal not going through. And we know this only from her words.

He stuck a gun in her face.

“He's so drunk and out of it from all the drugs that he was taking.”

If he fell backwards and fell down and it is head at the bottom of the stairs, he's not bleeding that much. But she wipes up all the blood and she puts him on a rug. So she could pull him into a bedroom. She puts him in bed.

She finishes cleaning up. It took probably about a half an hour by her estimate. She gets stressed. She goes downstairs and she sees the gun. She sees the clip as half out.

It was a semi-automatic. And the gun had jammed.

“She realized, "Oh, this time he really meant it. He really was going to kill me."”

And that's when she takes the gun and goes into the bedroom. She's in line there. She described, "Oh, she raised that gun. Close the eyes and squeeze the trigger." So the next thing I know, I'm standing over Ron.

And he's in bed dead. And I have a knife at my hand. She doesn't remember what happened. Well, I know I must have killed him. Investigators attempted to verify Catherine's claims,

but there are no records of any domestic violence calls. It seemed like the head several moments of acrimony. That they really, really, really didn't like each other from time to time. But I didn't see any hint whatsoever of physical violence. Fictims of domestic abuse generally do a pretty good job of concealing their bruises.

We're a long slave share. It's more makeup. Investigators are working to corroborate Catherine's allegations when a pivotal witness comes forward. The captain of one of Ron's boats. They were out again. I don't know where somewhere.

And there was an argument that he says it, Ron became so angry at it. And he just simply pushed her either to get her away. Aaron Brown, it been with them for a while. And he said he had witnessed a great deal with physical abuse. He's wanted a few people that actually saw it in real time.

Ron also is pointing a gun at her and at Aaron Brown on another occasion. But that night, the Mr. Vinci had been killed. To be with her, my victim and my suspect, and no one else knew what the story was.

How did she do this alone? Maybe she just pulled them and dragged them.

Well, I was certainly took an effort, but then they get them on the bed where she physically able to do that, not the machine launch it. You know, somebody had the help us. To investigators, one man seems to be a perfect fit. This is the point where it's started to suspect that Spencer Gordon may have some involvement in it.

His actions, his demeanor, just the times, really confused us. I didn't see what I wanted to see in saying that he's going to say oh my god, my friend, he's dead. You know, I loved him, he treated me well.

We didn't get that from him.

“So we started talking to friends and say hey, what's this relationship between Spencer and Mr. Vinci?”

Well, according to Mr. Gonzalez, he was a leech. Quite often, people with a lot of money have hangers on. And that was Spencer Gordon. He liked to hang around for the free lunch. He got to go on Ron's boats and fly his flying machines and those kinds of things. Was he trying to help her because he liked her?

Or was it something else? Was he his mind on the business end of it? Oh god, I'm losing my bank over here. However, detectives are unable to confirm their suspicions. I couldn't approve the Mrs. Spencer was involved in it. And then he had hand in it, or was it an accessory after the fact?

“After reaching a dead end with Spencer, investigators turn their focus to their main suspect.”

Worried that sympathy for Katherine's emotional story will overshadow the evidence at trial. Prosecutors consider other options. I wanted to see our state attorney for approval to potentially seek a plea. In this case, resolve it that way. He said that a jury of repairs decide. Remeness to the people of Brown County in a jury trial.

And that's what we did. In November 2014, Katherine Pledge's murder trial begins. Despite her claims of domestic abuse, prosecutors believe they have a solid case against her. It's not a self-defense case because she chose to do what she did. They showed them to budget them.

While he lay conscious or semi-conscious on a bed, when all she had to do was call it place. But Katherine's lawyer presents expert testimony arguing Katherine believed she had no other option. I'm a clinical and a forensic psychologist. I've interviewed Ms. Pledgey, who at that time was incarcerated.

There was no question in my mind after doing the evaluation that Katherine Pledgey was a better woman in her relationship with Ron, that she had developed better woman syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. And that at the time of the incident when she shot and killed him, she definitely was impacted by all of that trauma. That she believed that she was in danger,

that he could no longer control himself and that he would kill her.

“And that's what prompted her to actually take his life.”

I did my best to convince the jury that Katherine certainly believed that. As one of a few times I've ever put my client on the witness stand, but I felt I had no choice. She took the stand and it was sad. She just didn't look like somebody who could possibly do this.

And if she wasn't telling you that she did it, you'd never believe her.

When testimony ends, the judge instructs the jury not to consider a conviction for first-degree murder. It went to the jury as either a murder to a manslaughter or not guilty. I don't only think I know that decision was lawfully and rightfully and morally correct. A prosecutor who goes for a first-degree murder conviction and doesn't get it is going to be upset about it. This one didn't get it and was satisfied with that outcome.

That alone tells you that this case is highly unusual.

She was found guilty of a second-degree murder.

“An ultimately the judge indicated that although he didn't want to impose a sentence of 25 years,”

he felt he had to because the case involved use of a firearm, which under the law calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. Ultimately, the self-defense was not believed by this jury. I would say that this was one of the more nuanced cases that I've ever covered,

“because you had a suspect that defended who fit the role of victim in a lot of different ways.”

And you definitely feel compassion for her. I can't help but wonder whether she's been punished enough. Given that she had no criminal history in this one moment when she snapped, literally snapped, and had this out-of-body of experience. I'm out of how you look at it.

It's a troubling case.

“There are other details that still nagged the minds of investigators.”

When we went to the Grand jury, one of the Grand jury's actually asked, "Why haven't we arrested Mr. Gordon?" And I had that same question. Well, we haven't arrested Mr. Gordon because we don't have the evidence to show that he was in war. But how did this frail woman do what she did?

He would always stick to me.

As far as Ron is concerned, I really enjoyed this company. I enjoyed his friendship. I never had a dislike for Kathy. I liked her.

I never expected any of this, so it was a complete shock to me.

It was hard for anybody to get their mind around how it happened. Sad story. [Music]